You're Radioactive, Baby!
by Darkmoonwriter
Summary: Sequel to "The Not-So-Lone Lone Wanderer." This one will focus more of Anna and Butch's relationship along side their adventures in the wastes; LWxButch Deloria
1. Dunwich Building

Anna felt like she was going to vomit. Head spinning, breathing tight, she turned in a circle, staring wide-eyed at the decaying ruins around her. Feral Ghouls hissed in the distance, their horrible cries echoing off the walls and making them that much more gruesome. Their footsteps were growing louder and louder, attracted by Anna's fear. She held up her rifle, her arms shaking. Butch was gone, along with all the supplies, and the only thing lighting her way was her small pipboy light.

All of this for a stupid book.

Anna felt shame flush through her as she was on the edge of tears, screaming in alarm as one Feral Ghoul burst into the room. It was a mistake coming here. This place was nothing like anything Anna, or Butch, have had to go through before. Anna stared down at the corpse of the Feral Ghoul she had just killed, at least it had some ammo on it. She swallowed, pocketing it and checking over her gun, trying to get her bearings. Maybe if she stayed here, Butch would find her...What if he was hurt? Once again, Anna scolded herself. Was all of this worth it? Just to get rid of some dusty, blood covered book that she barely knew anything about?

It would have been a lot easier to let the guy pay her and just walk away.

* * *

"_**They attacked while I slept. I... I don't expect to survive. I only pray that you haven't taken that book to Obadiah. You must take up my mission." **_

_Anna stared at the message written in blood. 'Die Thief.' Anna swallowed as she listened closely to Marcella's holotape. She didn't know the women well, but she had liked her. Marcella actually knew what Anna was talking about when she mentioned her mother's favorite passage. Now, she was dead. Her blood scattered everywhere around the small tent, and Anna was listening to a tape titled 'Marcella's Last Words'_

"_**There is... one way to utterly destroy the Krivbeknih, but you must take a pilgrimage, far north of Point Lookout, in the Capital Wasteland. Seek a place called Dunwich. Within is an obelisk, itself a wicked thing. It'll consume the book - you need only press the book to its surface. May God shed his blessings upon you, child. Make haste for Dunwich."**_

_Anna took a deep breath in. Dunwich...She was pretty sure she knew where that was. She had never been inside however, she got some bad vibes from that place. When you're barely 19, and all alone in the Capital Wastes with only one gun and a handful of ammo, you're not so eager to go exploring. _

"_**My God, I am sorry for all my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against You whom I should..."**_

_Anna bit her lip as the Holotape ended, stealing a glance at Marcella's body. Though Anna didn't know much about her God anymore, or what kind of afterlife she believed in, She just hoped that wherever she ended up, it was someplace happy. Anna's bag where the book laid suddenly felt heavier. It was her job now to carry out Marcella's wishes. Putting her pipboy away, she made sure Marcella had a proper burial, making the small grave with a makeshift cross she was getting much too good at making. _

_Anna was now a mix of emotions, who was behind Marcella's murder? Unfortunately, she had a pretty good idea..._

* * *

"Butch?. . .Buuuutch?" Anna whispered harshly into the darkness, creeping along the corridor. She couldn't believe she had allowed them to get separated. She wasn't sure who was to blame, Him or Her. Either way, Some Feral Ghouls had cornered them and chased them about. When Anna had killed the last one, Butch was gone.

'This Place is huge!' Anna thought as she referred to her map again. Not that she was ever gifted in the art of map reading in the first place. Butch could be anywhere. She just hoped he had enough sense to stay in one piece. She felt as if this place could collapse at any moment.

Another growl down the hallway made her jump. She readied her rifle. This time she made sure to keep her breathing calm and collected. She had always hated ghouls, the feral kind of course. They always hissed and twitched in such a way that made Anna run for the hills. Some days she'd rather take on a Super Mutant Behemoth or two rather than take on a Feral.

So what better place to get lost in all alone in the middle of the night?

She turned the offending ghoul into a pile of radioactive slim. Putting her weapon away, she kneeled down. Bullet casings...these seemed pretty new, they weren't covered in dust like everything else. That meant Butch had passed through here at some point. She rose, a little giddy at her detective skills. Butch couldn't have gone far...hopefully.

* * *

_Anna stared down the pitiful old man. Obadiah Blackhall. The man who sent her out and started this crazy quest in the first place._

"_The book. You've found it. Quickly, give it to me." He put out a hand, reaching for it. Anna bit back a bitter laugh, eyes narrowing._

"_I haven't decided what I'm going to do with it yet." She lied. Of course she had already made up her mind about going back home and disposing of the book. She just wanted to see what Obadiah had to say._

"_Surely you're not considering giving it to Marcella? Come now, the woman can't rub two caps together. Give it to me and be paid." He sounded desperate. Why would someone even want a book like this so badly? the thing smelled, and honestly gave Anna the creeps. She felt like she was walking around with an armed landmine in her pocket, ready to go off at any moment. Anna looked down, trying to control her anger._

"_Marcella's dead, actually. I figured you had something to do with that."_

"_Can't say that I did, but that's all the more reason you should give the book to me." _

_Anna scoffed, shaking her head and backing away. How could someone be so heartless? She turned and ran from him without saying another word. She was going home._

* * *

Anna balanced on the plank of wood, walking across it carefully to receive the last of Jamie's recordings. The Story of Jamie, from what Anna had gathered, was a tragic one. Mind you, she hadn't been thinking much about it while running for her life from ghouls and searching for her kind-of-sorta boyfriend. Speaking of which...

Gazing down the giant hole ripped through multiple floors, Anna's eyes focused on the limp body of Butch Deloria.

"Butch!" She gasped started making her way down carefully. She nearly fell about four times, but managed to get to him in one piece. "Butch..." She said again, a bit softer, nearly tripping over some rubble as she made her way over to him, shaking him. For a split second, she thought he was dead. Thankful, he gave a small whimper, his head rolling to the side. He was bleeding from his temple, the skin around it was a lovely mash of yellow, black and purple. He must have fallen.

"Stupid..." Anna muttered, glancing up at the hole. He must have at least fell three stories. She started to dig out a stimpak. He never did watch where he was going. Butch jerked away once she stabbed the needle into him. "Easy there tiger, its me." She put a hand on his shoulder.

Butch glanced around, eyes finally landing on her. He took another moment to process what must have happened.

"You're alright!" He blurted finally, a sigh of relief. "I was beginning to think I'd be lost in here for forever."

"Don't be so dramatic." She stood, dusting herself off. She glanced around, eyes landing on another door. Part of her knew the smart thing to do was to go home...But she still had a quest to complete.

* * *

"_About time you got back!" Butch punched her lightly in the arm, as if she had just come back from a shopping trip rather than disappearing for months at a time to a mysterious place called 'Point Lookout' _

"_Oh can it you." She couldn't hide her grin at finally seeing him again. She leaned against his side. "I figured I'd find you here." Here being the muddy rudder. Why Butch loved this place so much, she'd never know. Maybe it was the first safe place Butch found after leaving the vault. He just shrugged._

"_I dunno, it got boring without you. So I thought a change of scenery was in order." He finished the last of his drink._

"_Some scenery..." Anna glanced around, feeling Butch's arm shift under her as he dug out some caps. _

"_I'm assuming you wanna head home now?" He stood._

"_Hell yeah I wanna go home." She watched him. "But..."_

"_But." He frowned, it wasn't really a question, he had expected it._

"_Buuut there's a thing I kinda have to do before we settle in." Anna grinned as Butch rolled his eyes._

"_Of course, You never change, Nosebleed. What's so wrong with just hang'n? You always gotta do that stupid goodie-two shoes act." He sighed. Well, it wasn't a no. Anna shrugged._

"_I like helping people...It's the right thing to do." She did a double take as Butch leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. Oh...Right. She felt her cheeks heat up. They were sort of an item now, and Anna still wasn't sure how she felt about it. Butch saw her hesitation, but didn't comment._

"_Come on, let's get out of here." Butch coughed a bit. Anna tried on a smile._

"_Yeah, We've got an abandoned building to explore!"_

* * *

"You sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine! I'm not the one who fell three stories." Anna glanced back at him as they made their way down deeper into the underground of the building.

"True...But still!" Butch said stupidly, jogging to catch up with her. She looked around, the set up reminding her of the subway tunnels.

"You think we're getting close to the obelisk?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Butch blurted. Anna sighed, questioning, once again, why she put up with him. "What are we gonna do anyway after we destroy that book?"

"Mmh...I don't know. What do you wanna do." She slowed down she stopped to shoot down a Feral Ghoul who was blocking the stairway. Finally Anna felt a lot calmer, now that she had backup.

"Never come back here again." Anna laughed, popping open the med kit that was hanging on the wall. "And being sober sucks, we should make sure to get a drink somewhere."

"Sounds like a plan." She pocketed the stimpaks.

"Just you and me and a bottle of wine..." Was he trying to imply something?

"You drink wine?" Anna glanced back at him again, he didn't seem the type.

"Eh." He shrugged. "Not really, but you do." She turned back.

"After surviving this place, a think a few shots are in order." Butch laughed at that.

"Yeah! Now we're talking!"

Anna hushed him as she opened another door. This one opened up to cavern. She reached back and tapped his chest lightly, signally this was it. With weapons drawn they headed down into the dimly lit cave.

* * *

_The pair stared at the skeleton draped over the ammo boxes, the dried blood, and flicking lights. _

"_Can we leave?" Butch asked after a moment._

"_I wish..." Anna muttered, hesitantly stepping inside. The door swinging shut with a loud bang behind them. Of course, the first thing Anna did was go to the towards the dead body, picking through the ammo boxes. _

"_You sure you don't wanna get outta here?" Butch stared down the dark hallway. _

"_I told you, We have this book we have to get rid off. It shouldn't be too difficult." Anna rose, going into the room. She stopped in front of the table full of holotapes. "Jaime's Personal Journal: Entry One," Anna read out loud, picking one of them up. "Through Five." She added, glancing at Butch. She tried to give him a smile, but that didn't seem to calm Butch's nerves anymore. "Let's have a listen?" Anna loaded the First One in, exploring the rest of the room as it played. _

"_**Why the hell would he come all the way out here? Dad's been a little nuts for some time now, but not like this.**_

_**Leaving me in that crappy old hospital without waking me... Without a goddamn flashlight.**_

_**I made enough selling the meds we scrounged to have kept us both fed at the colony for weeks.**_

_**Now I'm almost out of rations, my shoes are pretty much destroyed, and I'm still chasing the old coot. By my last reckoning, he was headed south."**_

_The start of the entry was hauntingly familiar. Anna listened with distaste slightly as she robbed the vending the machine of the last of its soda. Butch stayed quiet until the tape ended. Of course he was thinking the same thing._

"_Heh, Why does that sound-"_

"_Quit it." Anna rolled her eyes, the subject was still a sore one. _

"_Sorry...Anyway, do you have any idea where to start with this place?"_

"_No idea...Just follow the evil vibes?" Anna shrugged, loading on the next holotape._

* * *

Anna crouched, creeping forward just enough to see the Feral Ghouls wandering down in a pitt. In the middle of the room was a gruesome looking structure. The Obelisk. Anna inhaled, her mind trying to think of a plan. She took out a hand grenade, not even consulting Butch before pulling the pin and rolling it down the steps. The Ferals of course flocked to it, excited by the noise. Only to have it blow up in their faces.

"Now!" Anna cried, jumping up and firing her rifle. Butch fumbled to keep up. The Feral ghouls gave a collective angry hiss, sprinting up the stairs towards them, giving them everything they got.

"What the hell!?" Butch yelled as He felt a bullet whizz by his head. Looking past Anna and the dying Ghouls, he saw another one but this one more human like. He wasn't a complete skeleton. This guy glared at them, aiming his rifle for a kill shot. "Anna!" He shoved her out of the way, the bullet bouncing off the wall and hitting the last of the Feral Ghouls.

"What!?" Anna gazed wide-eyed at the Ghoul before them. It suddenly clicked for her. "Oh my God I think that's Jaime!"

"Who?" Butch frowned, not sure if he had ever heard the name before. (Of course he didn't pay attention to any of the holotapes they had picked up.)

"Maybe we could just-" Anna didn't get to finish as Jaime fired again, missing Anna by a fraction.

"Forget it! He looks pretty frosted!" Ben drew his hunting rifle again, firing. Anna's shouts were drowned out by gunfire. How dare he try and mess with his girl? Jaime was going to be in for a world of trouble. He was cruis'n for a bruisin'. He was- It was actually Anna who delivered the final shot to the head. Butch did a double take.

"Thank you," She said, brushing some stray hair out of her face. "But I can handle myself." For a chick being covered in dirt, blood, and God only knew what else...She looked pretty good to Butch.

"I know." He replied, focusing on checking over his hunting rifle. "I couldn't let someone one up my best gal, now can I?" Butch almost melted at the smile she gave him.

"Yeah, yeah. Alright hot-shot." She even laughed a little, before sobering and turning towards the Obelisk. "It looked like he was worshiping this thing..." Butch stepped up next to her.

"Maybe this is the Obe-thingy?"

"No dip." Just like that, Anna was back to her old self. Acting as if He was the stupidest vault dweller to ever grace the wasteland. She pulled out the book, the Krivbeknih. The cover was scratched, and covered in dried blood. At just one glance you could tell that it was a truly evil object. Almost mirroring the vibe that came from the Obelisk. Combined, they gave the pair goose bumps. "Ready to end this?"

"Sure...but what do we do now?"

"Marcella said just to press the book to its surface." Anna glanced down at it in her hands. She was tempted to page through its withered pages, but she was too afraid of what she might find.

"How does that do anything?"

"I don't know...Something about it absorbing its power. Lets find out." Anna held up the book, pressing it to the surface. A blinding flash burst forth, the book vaporizing from her grasp. A Burst of fire and radiation came next, filling the room with a burning heat. "BUTCH." Anna screeched, his clothes had caught fire in the wave.

Butch hadn't even noticed the flames until Anna tackled him to the ground.

"Stop drop and roll! Stop drop and roll!" Anna yelled, panicking and trying to pat out the flames. Butch shoved her off, the flames finally gone.

"That...That..." Butch couldn't think of any words to describe what just happened. He quickly stood before Anna could start patting him down again. Instead, she filled the stunned silence with a small whimper, wrapping her arms around him.

"I'm sorry I made you catch on fire." She said into his jacket. Butch blinked, awkwardly patting her on the head.

"I...forgive you?" Normally you wouldn't forgive someone for that so easily, but with Anna, Butch could forgive just about anything. "You didn't know it was gonna do that, did you?"

"No." She squeaked, refusing to part from him. Butch finally put his arms around her, he hadn't realized how much she was shaking.

"Hey..." He said softer, tucking some of her hair behind an ear. "Wanna get out of here?"

"Of course...I just don't wanna go through that creepy building again...or face more ghouls...I'm kinda done with things trying to kill me for a while." She squeezed his rib cage.

"Maybe we can find a shortcut or someth'n. Come on." He pried her from him, lacing their fingers together. She gave him a small smile, following him back up the stairs and hopefully onto a path towards the sunlight.

* * *

**A/N**

**Had a lot of fun writing this request! I Promise more fluffy things in the future. **


	2. Winter Wonderland

Anna stared at the pit of radioactive waste and trash for a moment, then smiled.

"I'm gonna go play in it."

"What!?" Butch came up next to her.

"Well, not 'play' really, just look for stuff." She was already digging out her radiation suit.

"You can't be serious..." Butch watched with distaste as she pulled the yellow suit on over her armor.

"Just watch me!" Anna pulled on the gloves, flexing her fingers.

"You're too kooky..." Butch crossed his arms, watching her finish and hop into the pit. He could hear her geiger counter ticking from where he was standing. Anna didn't reply as she started trudging through the waste. He thought for a moment longer, then opened his mouth again. "Are we jacketed now, or what?"

"Why would I want your jacket?" Anna turned back, confused.

"No! Like, dating. Are we dating now?"

"Oh..." Anna glanced down a bit, thinking for a few seconds. "Uh...Sure? I guess? I just don't know why you'd want to...ya know...with me." Anna turned back to the task at hand. Butch wasn't completely sure why, but he gave a sigh of relief.

"Maybe because you look cute with the way you waddle in that suit of yours?" He smirked.

"Shut up!" Anna yelled back, feeling her cheeks warm up. Butch snorted at that, settling down on the ground against a boulder. He figured they were going to be here awhile. He calmly lit a cigarette as he watched Anna nearly face plant into the toxic slime she was standing in. Why did he like this girl again?

Anna had always been a constant mystery in his life, even when she wasn't there. How could someone appear so human, yet be... special. Anna had a long list of faults, but by this point, Butch found himself overlooking every single one of them. Back in the Vault, he used to think her laugh was horribly annoying. Now, he seemed almost desperate to at least draw a giggle from her. Her hands were calloused and dirty all the time now, but her touch was nothing but gentle when it came to Butch. (Most of the time, at any rate) The way she didn't take shit from anyone was also a giant plus in Butch's book. He didn't like girls who were real pushovers.

Anna was... Anna. They grew up together. He still remembered when they were 10, the day she wore her hair in those cute little pigtails. Butch had pulled them so hard he made her cry. She was always easy to cry, at least when she was a kid. By the time they were 16, Anna learned not to put up with his crap. That didn't make her special though. By that time, the only one he could still get a rise out of was Amata.

_Amata._ Butch mused for a moment over how she must be doing. She was some hot shot overseer now. Sometimes he thought about heading back there for a visit. Anna was banned from the vault, not him. During the infamous rebellion of Vault 101, it seemed that he and Amata were the only ones who kept their heads. He almost fought her over who should lead, but he knew it'd be best for Amata to take charge. If anyone was going to get her dad to listen, it was his daughter right? Wrong.

He remembered the day Anna came waltzing back in. Covered in dirt, blood, and mismatched pieces of armor. She was no longer the sweet little daddy's-girl Butch had grown up with. She had just breezed right past him, up to Amata. She didn't even pause to explain herself, just asked how she could help. Just like that, it was fixed! Well, obviously not right away, but the eminent threat. With just a few words Anna had changed the mind of the most stubborn man Butch had ever met.

He'd never admit it, but that day, Anna seemed like the very definition of cool. It didn't seem that bad in the Wastes if a goodie-two shoes like her could survive it. She made it seem so easy. He didn't understand the heartbreak on her face when Amata told her to leave. Who on earth would want to stay clammed up in that tiny little vault. Butch was desperate to get out- hell, he had almost kissed her right then and there out of joy when she told him anyone was free to go.

Butch blinked, the memory shattering for a moment as something slammed into the rock face next to his head.

"I said catch!" Anna yelled from her spot in the middle of the pit. Butch looked down to spy a box of snack cakes. There was no way he was eating that.

"You missed." He picked it up, examining the molded cardboard. He yelped in alarm as another box collided with his head.

"HA!" Anna grinned, doing a little dance in place before turning back to the pile she was going through. Butch huffed, returning to his original train of thought.

Anna was even more different now from the time she returned home, but in a good way. She seemed more tired, weathered, and sour during their short reunion in the vault. She didn't seem to want anything to do with the vault dwellers then. It was a totally different story when they had met in Rivet city. Again, Anna seemed almost like a different person.

She was more open; she actually smiled when she saw him, running over to join him. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't glad that she had asked to travel together. He needed someone to show him the ropes. He had only spent about a week in the wasteland by himself before reaching Rivet City. He couldn't believe how easy Anna had made it seem. Hell, he nearly died the first night. She'd still seemed so badass to him back then. Though now...

He watched Anna waddle back over to him, climbing out of the pit.

"I found some bottle caps!" She grinned stupidly, her suit crooked. How could he have ever thought she was cool?

"Make sure to take some rad-away or whatever." He watched as she stripped the suit, taking in a breath a fresh air.

"Is it cold out here to you?" She ignored his advice, folding up the suit with care before putting it away.

"Nah, Not really." He stood, tossing his cigarette bud and stomping it out. The Capital wasteland was like a desert. Scorching hot in the day, and pretty cold at night. Having it drop down lower than 80 during the day was just unheard of. He checked his pipboy and frowned. The thing must have been broken, the temperature gage anyway. "Say's its 30..."

"Really?" Anna checked her own to confirm, then shivered a bit again. She was wearing only a short sleeved shirt. "Well, we should be heading back to Megaton before it gets too late."

"Please. I hate it out here." Butch glanced around. The wasteland only got worse and more hostile at night.

The two started on their way back, walking side by side, hands brushing against each other.

"Why'd you ask if we were dating?" Anna said, shattering the silence.

"Hmm?" Butch glanced up, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I don't know... Dating seems kinda pointless in the Wastes, ya know?"

"True. But what else would we be?" Anna watched the horizon, as if she was addressing it rather then him. Butch shrugged, dragging his boots a little.

"I don't know..." he said again.

"I've never actually dated anyone." Anna admitted, sighing. Butch looked up, a bit surprised.

"Really?"

"Well of course. I never really had anyone back in the Vault."

"Well... Yeah, but I never made it a point to be involved in your stupid love life." Butch defended himself.

"My options were pretty limited." Butch shrugged, then nodded.

"Yeah, that's pretty true I guess."

"It's funny... You'd think we'd never seen each other after leaving the Vault...Yet here we are." Anna gave a small shrug of her shoulders, a smile tugging on her lips as she played with her fingers. Butch glanced at her. It was funny, wasn't it? Back in the Vault, Butch never really thought twice about her. Now she was one of the only things he thought about. "Butch?" He blinked, he had stopped walking. She was turned back towards him, eyes narrowed in confusion.

"C'mere for a sec..." He gestured. Anna, still confused, headed over. He could see her breath float up in one large white puff as she joined him. "It _is_ funny..." he began, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her close, promising himself he wouldn't get lost in her big hazel eyes again. "I honestly never thought I'd get the-"

"Holy shit!" Anna blurted, eyes widening. Butch frowned.

"Doll, I'm trying to say something sweet for once if you'd just-"

"No! Holy shit!" She pointed a bit, then held up her hand. She caught a small, delicate white something as if floated down through the air. Butch looked down, watching it melt just as fast as it appeared.

"...Snow?" Butch remembered the word, looking up to see thousands of flakes start to float down around them.

"I didn't think the Wasteland could ever get snow!" Anna cried, seeming to get a bit excited as she attempted to catch another snowflake in her hand. Butch shrugged, watching the snow drift peacefully for a moment, before returning his gaze back to her. The snow had started to accumulate on her hair. Dusting her eyelashes as they fluttered. Butch couldn't stall himself any longer. He lifted a hand, taking her chin and directing it towards him. He leaned down and kissed her before he could change his mind.

The embrace was warm, and soft. Anna shut her eyes, body relaxing under his touch. She felt safe, despite being right in the open in the middle of the dangerous wasteland. This kiss made her head spin, her nerves ache, and made her forget how to properly breath for a few moments. She breathed in, hand gripping his jacket in it's usual place. They finally parted, the chilled wasteland air coming in as a shock to both of their lungs.

"Still not used to it..." Anna muttered, a smile quickly curling up onto her lip. Eyes still closed as the kiss lingered, Butch smirked.

"Am I just that good?" Anna scoffed, eyes opening as she smacked his shoulder gently.

"You wish."

"So I just gotta kiss you again and again until you get used to it, huh?" Butch leaned down and kissed her cheek, then her forehead, her nose, covering her face in kisses until she began to laugh.

"S-Stop!" She cried, hiding her face in his chest. Butch laughed a bit, wrapping his arms around her fully. Holding her as he gazed out into the wasteland around them as it slowly started to blanket in snow, The ice crystals giving reality a certain fuzzy feel to it.

"Come on, we should head inside before we freeze." Butch willed himself to let Anna go, but made sure to interlock his fingers with hers. Anna smiled that smile that always drove him crazy.

"Hell yeah! I can't feel my fingers!" She swung their arms a bit before leading the way back home.


	3. Comfort

Some days were great with Anna. She appeared to be flying sky high. Unstoppable, invincible. It didn't take much to get a smile out of her, and that was one of the things Butch loved about her. She could be the bright, vivid color in a word of muted ones. Butch wasn't sure if thats how everyone saw her, or it was just him. Not that is matter. He figured if everyone saw her the way he did, everyone would be in love with her.

Some days, however, were different with Anna. She'd get quiet, so quiet you could forget she was in the same room as you. She'd appear so small, curling up in a corner and just stare. These were the days that reminded Butch she was only human. Because some days, Anna would stop pretending, and it'd all finally wash over her. Everything that she had ever done. Leaving her home, killing countless individuals to find her father, only to lose him too.

On a rare night, Anna would actually talk about it all. She would admit it was the death that bothered her the most. To her, it didn't matter if they had shot first and asked questions later. Anna could never shake the hanging question of what would happened if things went even slightly different. Anna knew most of who she killed were truly evil, but a life was a life, and there was so much blood on her hands.

Some days it'd get even worse. She'd lock herself up completely, emotionally and literally. Explaining she was going to wash up, only to not return after a few hours. Butch always had to go and fetch her out of the bathrooms. He was always afraid of what he'd find after she'd been alone so long. Her tears were hard enough, but she always worried him when she got like this. He worried she'd go and do something stupid, just like him when he was feeling low.

Anna always kept a large supply of drugs in places... for trading of course. At least that was what she said. Anna didn't seem to be the junkie type to Butch, she hardly even drank. But he still couldn't shake the fact the idea scared the freaking shit out of him. She'd finally snap and throw everything away. He didn't blame her of course, having the whole wasteland virtually depend on her.

Butch swallowed, finding himself staring down the same horrible nightmare again as he walked to the girls bathroom. Hands stuffed in his pockets, eyes not daring to look at any of the citizens that passed. It was just one of those days again. He gave a few soft raps on the door and waited. When there was no response, he knocked harder. Silence again, his heart leaping into his throat as he tried for a third time.

"Anna?"

He heard movement in there, thank god. He cleared his throat.

"You okay in there?"

Silence again.

"Want me to come in?"

He glanced around nervously, no response again. He sighed.

"Alright...I'm comin' in. You better be decent."

He braced himself as he entered. For what, he had no clue, but he felt himself let out a breath when he saw her sitting up in the bathtub. He let the door swing shut behind him. Anna stared down at the floor, her hands doing a series of robotic movements, washing her arms and legs over and over again.

"Hey..." Butch blurted, awkwardly, that was far from his definition of decent.

"Hi..." her voice came out as a hoarse whisper, her eyes flicking up, then back to her own hands. Butch wasn't sure what to do, or say, or even think. He took a few more cautious steps towards her, as if she was some wild animal, ready to bolt at a moments notice. There wasn't enough soap left in the bath or obscure the view.

"A-Anna?" He found himself stammer a bit. Her eyes finally looked up at him. They were a bit red from crying, but very cold and distant.

"Yes?"

"You...You feelin' alright? Well, I guess that's stupid. Of course you're not feelin' right." He scolded himself, why did he always have to sound like an idiot when he really wanted his words to mean something. "Just..." He took a breath. "How about you dry off and we can just bash ears, ya know? That might help. You know I suck at all this feely junk." He looked down, kicking some dirt with his boot. Man, he was such a loser. Anna's silence didn't encourage him any further.

Finally she made a move, nodding she stood up. The splash of water dragging Butch's attention upward. He felt his cheeks heat up at the sight.

"Uhm-urh-" He knew he should do the polite thing and turn away, but too late for that now. The corner of Anna's mouth twitched upward into a small smile, but it didn't hold any feeling behind it.

"Never seen a naked women before?"

"What? No! It's not that!" Butch focused on the ceiling. Of course he'd had his share of one night stands in the vault, and down at the muddy rudder, but this was different. This was Anna. Standing in front of him, dripping wet and completely naked.

"Hand me that towel?" She asked, exiting the tub. Butch assumed she pointed, but wouldn't dare look. He fumbled, looking around until he found it laying on one of the sinks. Grabbing it, he thrust it out to her, eyes still trained at the floor. He felt Anna hand ghost over his, but didn't take the towel. It traveled up his arm settling on his shoulder as she stood inches away from him.

"Butch..." She said, voice hushed. He dragged his eyes upward. Was this right? He wasn't stupid, he knew what she was leading them both towards. Butch almost lost it when he watched her glance down at his lips just before stretching up to capture them with her own. Her touch was warm and soft. Nothing too desperate or sloppy, as if she had been planning every move days in advance.

He dropped the towel, hands came up to rest on the damp skin of her hips as she continued to kiss him, picking up the pace as she gripped his jacket. She gave a soft shiver, parting to gasp for air, her body flush against him.

Something in Butch finally snapped. Pressing her up against the wall, he latched onto her neck. Panting, Anna shivered a bit more. Her mind was going a mile a minute and she was having trouble keeping up. One thing she knew for sure; this wasn't right. It didn't feel right at least, for reasons Anna would figure out later.

"Butch." She started to tug on his wrists. Butch's grip only tightened, pressing her harder against the wall. "Butch, Stop." Anna pleaded. If her heart went any faster, she was sure it'd burst. Butch seemed to ignore her and carry on, coming back up to kiss her roughly. Anna gave a muffled cry, feeling tears start to come up again. Anna felt a wave of panic was over her, sapping her of any strength she had to push him off. "S-Stop!" She sobbed out, causing Butch to finally freeze.

What the hell was he doing? He looked down at her, was she crying because of him? She hiccuped, wrapping her arms around herself as she cried. Butch loosened his grip, but didn't let go completely.

"Hey..." He said softly, she wouldn't meet his eyes. She just stared at the ground and cried more. He leaned forward again, causing her to flinch. Butch simply buried his face in the crook of her neck. "I'm sorry...It's ok. I'm sorry." He whispered, a hand rubbing up and down her arm. "I didn't mean to..." he trailed off a bit. "I Just...I love you...a lot."

Those words made them both feel a bit nauseous. Butch ignored the fact that it was the first time he had ever said anything like that too her. He lifted his head once her crying had died down to only a few sniffles.

"We gotta get you dried off, babe. Before you catch a cold." She looked up and nodded, still clinging to him as he moved to grab her towel off the floor.


	4. Happy New Years

"So, who put you up to this?" Anna pushed, taking another sip from her wine. Butch scoffed.

"What'da mean?" Butch's grin was betraying him. The pair was on one of the roofs in megaton, blanket spread out, a bottle of wine between them.

"Really? Come on, you don't have a romantic bone in your body ." Anna snuggled up closer to him, legs draped over his lap. Butch took a long drink, as if stalling.

"Ok...Moria did. She thought it'd be nice for us to 'get away' for a little bit." Anna laughed a bit.

"Pretty nice of her. Cute of you to be so honest." She looked up at the night sky, some stars peeking out from behind the clouds.

"Yeah I guess..." Butch put his arm around her, hugging her close. The couple lapsed into silence silence, just enjoying the moment.

"Oh hey..." Anna said suddenly, she had been fiddling with her pipboy. "Hey its 2279...When did that happen?"

Butch looked down at her. "Oh...Ok?" He wasn't sure why it mattered.

"January 3rd...missed the New Year by three days." Anna shrugged a bit.

"Don't get what's the big deal about the new year...another year to survive and fight...ain't look'n forward to that."

"That was surprisingly poetic...Remember the news years back in the vault?" Anna shifted a bit, smiling. "Tasted champagne for the first time when I was 13..." Butch laughed.

"Wow, weren't you a little rebel." Anna nudged his side, shifting again to sit on her knees.

"Lets have a toast."

"To what?"

"The new year..."

"but its not the new year, we missed it."

"You have an imagination don't you?" Butch scoffed.

"Alright, I'll bite." He raised his glass.

"So...A toast to the New year," Anna raised her own glass. "I hope- No, I know, this year will be better than all the others...Because we'll be in it together." She clinked her glass to his.

"Wow...that was horrible, gross even. Ya know, I'm having second thoughts about you. I think you're too much of a goodie-two shoes for me." Butch smirked.

"Oh shut up! Or I won't give you a new years kiss." she taunted.

"I'm pretty sure we've kissed in the past few days, nothing special." While his guard was down, Anna grabbed the front of his shirt and tugged him forward, slamming her lips to his. Butch's eyebrows shot up. Once Anna parted, his head was still spinning.

"Whoa..." He breathed, watching Anna's lips spread into a giant grin. "Where you've been keeping that one?" she sat back down, snuggling back next to him.

"Mmh, Happy New Years..." Anna said into his jacket. Butch kissed the top of her head.

"Happy New Years, babe."


	5. Cross Bones

**A/N**

**Just a little warning, I know this fic is rated M, but this chapter contains a little bit more violence then what I normally have in my stories. Nothing that goes into much detail, but still a bit different from what I normally do. Also, sorry I haven't posted anything in a while, then I just post one that's a real downer. I promise I have 5 other chapters started, just nothing finished. **

* * *

God, her head pounded; Anna refused to open her eyes for a while, seemingly content with listening to her heart pick up the pace. Everything hurt she concluded as her senses slowly came alive. She was restrained to a chair, and her mouth taped shut. Shifting slightly, she winced as rope dug into her flesh. Of course she was stripped of all her armor, leaving her in just a tank top and her briefs. Anna racked her brain to try and remember how she have ended up here.

A groan called her to attention, eyes snapping open. White light flooded her vision, blinding her. Another confused noise from behind, she responded with a muffled 'Butch?' The tape just smothered it. Another grunt, and a futile shift. Butch continued trying to loosen his bonds as Anna looked around the room.

She recognized it to be part of a vault. The room was dusty, a molding mattress rested against the wall. Broken dressers scattered the room. From the smell, a small camp fire burned somewhere behind her. Why they would want a fire was beyond her, but judging by the fact the lights were all on, the air filtration could easily handle the smoke.

For a while the two sat in forced silence, both racking their brains to try and remember how they got into this mess. Finally the door opened, and two raiders waltzed into the room. Grinning as their eyes connected with Anna's.

"Well, well, well, looks like the sleeping beauties are finally awake." Anna felt fear creep up as she realized how powerless she really was. The first one stood in front of Anna, leaning down so close Anna could smell his disgusting odor. As Anna stared into the raiders eyes, trying to figure out what was behind them, she heard and rip and Butch swear openly. Anna was then also freed of her gag, but she didn't speak. She instead simply watched the raider carefully. She had always been clever with words, but that was normally when she had a back up plan involving guns.

"The names Bones...I bet you're wondering why you're here." The first raider said cooly.

"What the fuck do you want!?" Butch snapped. "What the hell is going on!?" A thunk, Anna flinched for Butch as he yelped, the chair jerking to one side a bit from the force of the blow.

"And that's Skull...He doesn't play nice." A horrible smirk.

"So what do you want? It you wanted us dead, you would have done it by now." Anna asked, each word carefully thought out.

"Ah, so you're not stupid." Bones seemed so smug, and it pissed her off. "We want you to pay." He said simply.

"What are we paying for, then?"

"You know!" Bones snapped suddenly and glared at her.

"I have a lot to pay for, just wanted to know who was cashing in." Anna glared back, hazel eyes showing just as much intensity as his. Bones simply shrugged, backing off a bit.

"You've killed to many of our own." He went around her. "So, we all want you to pay." He said lightly from behind, as if he was asking her to pay up 5 caps. A shuffle, then Bones came back into view with a red hot iron poker. He showed off his rotting teeth in a sadistic smile as sweat formed on Anna's brow. Her heart went into overdrive as she stared at the sharpened tip of the iron. Bones replaced the tape over her mouth. "But not how you think."

A few sounds behind her and Butch was freed from his chair. Of course his first move was to attack, which was short lived. Skull was stronger and bigger than Butch. He was pushed forward in front of Anna.

"You get to watch." Bones waved the hot poker in front of Anna's face as Butch was shoved to the ground. The Tape was replaced Butch's mouth now too, Bones laughed as Skull ripped his tunnel snakes jacket off of him and tossed it aside. Bones stooped down and picked it up. "Cool jacket, I think I'll keep it." he sneered. Butch threw muffled profanities at both of them as Skull ripped apart his T-shirt. Butch froze, eyes wide with panic as the red hot poker was passed to Skull. Skull gave a low chuckle, watching Butch frantically shake his head and squirm before stabbing the tip of the poker into Butch's left shoulder. The greaser gave a horrible muffled scream. Anna's heart leaped into her throat as she began to struggle. She finally let pure panic take over her. No more calculated moves. No more caution. Just the pure, frantic need to get out. Get out and help her partner. Both raiders roared with laughter.

Skull seemed to be practiced in the art of torture, (No surprise there) as he made sure to take his time. He made sure the skin was burnt to a crisp before really sinking in. Butch kept screaming until he didn't have a voice anymore. The pain was becoming too much for him as he started to feel dizzy and nauseous. He just wanted to give up and pass out. Anna gave a small whimper, tears forming in her eyes. She willed Butch to stay awake, she couldn't lose him.

Bones loomed over the wanderer, all of his carefree attitude gone. She felt so small and helpless, a feeling she hadn't felt since first leaving her vault. She saw no point in trying to hold back the tears.

"How does it feel, Bitch!?" Bones snapped as she stared at him wide eyed. Skull twisted the iron poker still in Butch's shoulder. By this point, Butch could only manage a weak flinch.

"I bet you didn't think twice when you killed them! My brothers, my sisters! You didn't care!" He swing his fist, the heavy weight colliding with her head, causing it to spin. "'But I was only doing what was good.'" Bones mocked in a high tone, assuming that was how she wanted to answer. "It's not like we don't have feelings." He hit her again.

"We have families!" Again.

"Friends!" Again.

"You Bitch!" And again.

Skull came up and tapped Bones on the shoulder, holding up the bloody poker, now cooled. Behind them both, Butch didn't move. While Bones was occupied with Anna, Skull made sure Butch wouldn't be waking up for a long while, if at all. Bones' smirk returned, flexing his hand as he seemed to calm, turning to gaze at her broken face. Her body jerked with sobs silenced by the tape covering her mouth.

"I guess we can take a break, but one last thing..." He raised his arm, bringing his armor clad elbow down on her left thigh with all his force. She screamed in pain, swearing she heard a crunch. A burning pain quickly bloomed. The raiders once more howled with laughter as they left the room. "Hey...You said take a break...Then you break her leg." It was the first words Skull had spoken since entering the room. Bones began shaking uncontrollably with laughter as they exited, the door falling shut behind them both.

Anna's eyes snapped to Butch, the image of his seemingly lifeless body sent chills down her spine. She began to struggle once again. Each light movement of her leg made her slightly nauseous, but she had to do something, anything. She figured the doors were guarded, but she wasn't worried about escaping. The only thing she could focus on was Butch, She began to try and shimmy back and forth, trying to scoot her chair across the room. Inadvertently, she leaned too far. She had time for a sharp gasp before she fell to her left side. She gave a muffled shriek of pain as her thigh slammed into the ground. She withered, trying to force herself to take deep breaths. She focused ahead, seeing spots dance across her vision. She swore at herself, now she couldn't do anything. She tried blinking away the tears, but more came to replace them quickly. She laid there in silence, sniffling. Pathetic. Part of her just prayed they would kill her soon just to get it over with. Before they got any more heinous ideas.

She lost count of the minutes that ticked by as she laid there in defeat. She really had truly give up. From her angle, she couldn't even see how Butch was doing. Worse than her she assured herself. She simply stared at the wall, trying not to think of the other things Bones and Skull planned on doing to them. Suddenly, the door opened again. Anna squeezed her eyes shut as she braced herself for whatever was about to happen next. She felt her chair get lifted back up.

"Need a hand?" A beautifully familiar voice whispered. Anna's eyes snapped open to the image of Sarah Lyons, a good friend of hers. She gave a hopeful, excited whimper right before Lyons ripped off the tape.

"M-More like-like a leg." Anna stuttered, her emotions fried, but were quickly coming back to life, making her jittery. She realized how raw her voice sounded. "Bastard broke my leg I think."

"Dammit, I was hoping we could sneak out. I didn't think they'd put you in this bad of a shape before we got here." Sarah looked like she wanted to apologize, but knew Anna didn't blame her. She turned and glanced at Butch.

"Is it just you?" Anna dragged her attention back to Sarah.

"No, I have all my men at different posts around the vault. Don't worry, there's no lack of backup." Lyons took out a knife, cutting Anna free. "I was just hoping we could avoid any murder for once..."

"N-No, please...Be my guest." Anna braced herself to stand. Lyons scrambled to make sure she was steady. Anna swatted her aside, limping across the room to Butch. She swallowed, the hole in his shoulder looked god awful. She forced back tears, he looked so pale.

the gun shots echoing around the vault called Sarah to attention.

"Shit. We've been discovered." She whistled, and two pack members entered. Casually stepping over the bodies of the guards. The two members gingerly picked up Butch.

"How did you find us? I don't even really remember what happened." Anna asked, limping after Lyons to the door.

"We got word from Moria back in Megaton. She said she noticed you two hadn't checked in for a while. She got worried. It didn't take long to find all the different bounties on your head. It also wasn't rocket science to find which group of raiders were in the area." She gestured to another pack member in the hall, pointing to Anna. Before Anna could say anything she was scooped up. "There's no way you're keeping up with us with that leg. It's not ideal, but it works."

"Just give me some stimpaks and I'll be fine!" Anna whined a little as shame flooded her. She hated being the damsel in distress, it was normally Butch's job. Lyons ignored her, giving commands to her men before leading the way to freedom. The next minute or so that followed was hectic. Bullets and lasers flying all around. Shouts and screams rang out, but Lyons and her band kept running. They paused only to cut down those who got in the way.

Sunlight was a shock when they made it out, it didn't take Anna long to recognize they had come out of vault 106. She should have known raider would make it a hive once the gas problem was fixed. This fact turned out to be lucky, being that they weren't that far from megaton. Butch of course was in serious need of medical attention. Anna tried not to think about that, and focused on the fact that they were both alive.

The pain was dulled now. Still there of course, but very much dulled. The Med-x was taking its time to kick in. Anna pressed her ear to Butch's chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart. Which each beat, a wave of relief washed over her. They were finally alone back in their Megaton house. Doc Church patched them up as best he could, giving them some extra med-x for the pain, and instructed them not to step foot out of their house for some time. They need the time to heal. For once, Anna didn't argue. At this point. She couldn't imagine going out ever again.

Butch had woken up shortly after Church had finished up on him. He had just about enough energy to walk home, upstairs, and collapses on the bed, where they were now. Anna curled up on his good side as best she could. Church said she'd have to keep the weight off her leg for a long while, and might even end up with a limp. She expected this. She wasn't immortal. After everything with the purifier, and the few short adventures that followed, she knew it was only a matter of time before she'd become broken again, and become a more permanent broken.

"You ok?" Butch's rusty voice suddenly sounded, causing Anna to lift her head. She sat up on her elbow, looking down at his bruised face. She nodded slowly.

"Yeah...I'm fine." She whispered back. She was so unbelievable grateful to see those clear blue eyes again. His cracked lips finally pulled into a lazy smirk.

"Hey, you look kinda hot with that black eye of yours." He even managed a chuckle or two before the pain washed everything out. Anna would have playfully smacked at him, but was too afraid to hurt him further.

"Just shut up, ok?" Her lips pulled into a soft smile as she laid back down. He wrapped his good arm around her, holding her close for a moment before relaxing.

"We owe Lyons a big one." He said thoughtfully. She nodded. "She even made sure to get my jacket back from that bastard." Butch's smile grew a bit at the thought of was Sarah must had done to him.

"We'll pay her back later." That phrase...'Pay back.' caused her the shiver. "Get some rest, Butch." She instructed, looking up to kiss the edge of his jaw. Butch didn't protest at all. He closed his eyes as they both settled down for the rest of the night.


	6. Be my Valentine, Dammit!

"These things look just like pure sugar..." Anna opened the dusty box and pulled a small, brightly colored heart out. She turned it over in her hand with interest. "I...I think you eat it." She squinted at it in the low lighting. Something seemed to be written on it. Butch grimaced at the corpse of a radroach as he stepped over it. Why Anna always loved to wander into these abandoned corner stores he'd never know. He yanked the box out of her hand.

"Geez...'Conversation hearts?' What? People didn't talk to each other in the past? Ya had to do it through shitty candy?"

"'Too cool'" Anna said lightly, almost as a sigh, as she handed the sugared heart to him. At first Butch was horribly confused. Then he noticed that in pink font on the heart, the very same words stared back at him.

"These are...Weird." Butch decided.

"Judging by the gross amount of cupids on the box, I think they were for Valentines day or something." Anna deducted as she dug another out of the box for another. "Try it!" Butch hesitantly did so, and was greeted to a sugary and slightly chalky delight.

"Ain't half bad." He shrugged, comparing it to the equally shitty stuff they were forced to eat day after day. Anna giggled a bit.

"'Be mine?'" She asked sweetly, showing him the heart before popping it into her mouth. Butch was catching onto the game. He quickly dug one out and read it.

"'Hot stuff.'" Butch snorted.

"Why thank you." Anna grinned, hopping up onto the counter next to the cash register. She reached out her hand for another.

"'Crazy for you.'" Anna read. "Only they used the number..." She popped it in her mouth and sucked on it. Butch dug for another one. He grinned, setting the box on the counter and getting down on one knee.

"Anna..." He presented her with the candy heart. "'Marry me?'" He snickered, quoting the heart. Anna looked at him dully, unimpressed by his proposal as she took the box and rummaged through it. She oohed in approval at the one she found.

"'No Way'" She grinned, holding up the green heart she quoted. Butch deflated into a mock pout, rising.

"And why the hell not?"

"Cause you're a boob." She said simply, popping another into her mouth. Butch started digging through the box again. More interested in reading them rather then eating them.

"These things are a drag..." Butch held one up. "'First kiss?' I bet they ran out of things to say." That one gave Anna an idea. She reached up and tugged on his shirt, getting him to lean towards her enough to connect their lips. Butch gave a soft sigh as they kissed. All too soon Anna parted with a smirk plastered to her lips. Butch blinked. "What?" He noticed there was a candy in his mouth, He nearly choked on it for a moment as he stared at Anna in bewilderment. He didn't have one before the kiss. "How...How you'd do that?"

Anna simply cackled, hopping off the counter and taking the box of candy back from him.

"Happy belated Valentines Day!"


	7. Bonnie and Clyde (Into The Pitt Part 1)

**Into the Pitt Part 1**

* * *

It started with a kiss.

"We're just going to check out the signal..." Anna promised.

"Yeah, yeah...You know what that always leads too." Butch frowned, refusing to step foot outside the bar.

"Come on! Someone needs our help!" She tugged on his sleeve a bit. Butch didn't want to budge. After almost losing Anna at the purifier, He had been more and more hesitant to take on bigger quests. "Buuuuuutch! I'm going without you if you won't."

"Please, you need me! Who would have your back?"

"I can take care of myself!" Anna snapped. Gob came over, rolling his eyes.

"Are you two going to buy anything? Or just sit there and bitch at each other?" Butch looked up,

"Sure, I'll have-"

"Nothing." Anna cut in. "Because we'll be leaving. Come on!" She hopped off the bar stool, tugging on his arm again. Butch sighed, glancing at her. She had the full pout going on now. It just wasn't fair.

"Fine." He finally caved. "Fine, we'll go and see about that stupid radio signal of yours."

"Yes! Whoo!" Anna celebrated, kissing him on the cheek before dragging him out.

"I came because of the radio message. What's the problem?" Anna calmly explained, barely blinking an eye after murdering about three slavers. It sometimes unnerved Butch how passive Anna was when it came to people who they found in the wastes, good or bad.

"Well now, a hero! Look at you!" This guy, Wernher, seemed relieved. He was another person who unnerved Butch, but in a different way. He was dirty, an eye patch covered one eye, a mop of unkept dusty orange hair covered the top of his head. He seemed to be a typical wastelander. Although, there was still something about him that Butch didn't trust right away.

Wernher continued, his gratitude flickering as he got down to business.

"I come from a place far to the northwest. It's called The Pitt. It's...Well...Let's be honest. The place in a nightmare...radiation, mutation, disease. But the worst of if: my people, some of the only survivors, are slaves."

Anna's breath caught in her throat for a moment. Of course. Now days, it seemed the pair couldn't walk two feet in the wastes without running into a salve or and ex-slave. Anna had made her opinion very clear about slavery after clearing out Paradise Falls. Butch still got shivers down his spine just thinking about what went on down there.

"No big deal you're thinking?" Wernher went on. Anna opened her mouth to speak, but he just keep on. "It's a rough world. But I have the chance to free them. All I need is an outsider's help before that chance is gone." Impressive spiel, poetic even. Butch wondered if the guy had practiced those lines while waiting for someone to show. Finally, Anna got a chance to speak.

"So...You escaped. Or something like that."

"Yeah. That's why these guys were after me. As long as I know about the cure, I'm a threat. So I ran, and you can be damn sure there will be more of 'em coming." Anna tilted her head to the side slightly at the mention of a 'cure.' Now Wernher had her interest.

"What cure are you talking about? A Cure for what?" Of course the first things that came to mind were cancer, or AIDS...It had to be something pretty important. What didn't add up was why he was a threat for knowing about it. Why did these people want it to be such a secret?

"The Pitt is a mess. Nearly everyone who lives there is either sick, dying...or worse. It's the water. And the air. You can't escape it. You stay there a few years and no matter what, It'll get you. But the bastards who have my people, they've found a way to cure it. And once they have that cure perfected, we don't stand a chance. So, We need the cure to bargain for our freedom."

Anna frowned.

"I don't understand...Why keep sick slaves?" She blurted. "Couldn't they make more profit with healthier subjects?"

Wernher rolled his eyes (well, eye. God only knew what was under that eye-patch.)

"Like they care about us. All that matters to them is the work. As long as that's getting done, they don't care. So are you going to help, or not?" He stared the two down, arms crossed, as if ready to personally judge them based on their answer. Anna glanced at Butch. He, personally, wanted out. Things didn't add up, and he didn't trust Mr. Ginger eye-patch as far as her could throw him. Anna ignored his look, turning back to Wernher.

"Alright. We'll help you. What do we need to do first?"

"First you'll need a disguise. They probably won't let some random armored waster past the gates," He looked Anna up and down, electing her to do the same.

"But if you look like one of the working stiffs, you should be able to slip in with no problem." Butch definitely didn't like where this was going now. Big red flag popping up just at the thought of Anna trying on some of their clothes.

"Lucky for us, a group of slavers is nearby waiting to make a sale. You should be able to get one off of them. They're off to the west, near the tunnel that leads to the pitt. That should be our first move." Wernher explained quickly. Anna nodded.

"Right...So free the slaves and then...Steal their clothes?" She started to frown again.

"Just...Get something. I don't care how." The ginger seemed to be having second thought about her. If he did, he wasn't voicing them. "Okay. You go get the outfit. I'll stay here and meet up with you when it's done." He nodded.

"Hey, why can't you come and help us?" Butch spoke up. Wernher finally turned and looked at him, probably for the first time since them walking up. All of his focus had been on Anna.

"They'll probably recognize me and shoot on sight. It'll be easier for you two to go alone. I trust you can handle yourself if you handle them anything like you did here." He gestured to the bodies around them. "Now go, we're running out of time." He shooed them off.

"Was it just me, or does that guy talk a LOT?" Butch asked, hands in his pockets as they walked along a makeshift path. Anna shrugged.

"He had to explain everything." She said simply.

"I don't like this..." Butch began, eyeing her.

"What?" She looked back at him, genuinely surprised. "Why not?"

"How can we trust him? Hu?" He challenged.

"Normal people don't lie about slavery, Butch."

"And how do we know he's normal?"

"What would he have to gain anyway?"

"I don't know, trick you into slavery, kidnap ya, something like that." It appeared that Butch wasn't really listening through most of Wernher's explanation. Anna huffed, looking back down at her plasma rifle.

"It's fine Butch. If he turns out to be bad news, we can handle him."

"If you say so..." Butch glanced back towards the radio tower, now obscured by the rocky cliffs of the capitol wastes. Of course Butch wasn't convinced, but he did trust that Anna knew what she was doing. Her word was good enough for him.

"Oh! Stop!" Anna slapped a hand to Butch's chest, stopping him in his tracks. He jumped.

"Wha-?" Anna crouched, pointing to a group of people a few yards ahead. Butch crouched down next to her.

"So, whats the plan?" He asked. He could see an idea already forming in her head. She then stood.

"Follow me." She said simply, leading the way towards the group of dangerous slavers. Butch looked at her in disbelief. "Hey!" She called and waved to the group. One, assuming to be the ring leader, looked up from his deck of cards and scoffed.

"I'd get out of here girlie, unless you're look'n to make a deal. You two don't look the type." Anna finally stopped about a yard from him.

"Oh really? There's a type now? Is my membership card still valid?" The Slaver growled and reached for his gun. He had just about enough time to aim before Anna dissolved him into a glowing pile of green goo.

"This is your version of a plan!?" Butch snapped, drawing his own weapon as an all out shoot out exploded in the small camp. Anna just gave a wicked smile, weaving back and forth in an effort to dodge bullets. It took a total of 2 minutes to take out the two other men, a record for the pair.

"You're getting too cocky..." Butch grumbled as he dared to think about how all of that could have gone very, very wrong. Anna gave him a knowing smile.

"You find it sexy." She said confidently.

"Oh, Do I now?" Butch asked as if it was a challenge, closing the gap between them. Anna hummed, leaning up to kiss him before they were interrupted.

"Hey! Bonnie and Clyde! Before you go about suck'n each others faces off, could you do something about this lock!?"

A girl rattled the cage door. About three other slaves were gathered around her, all looking rather alarmed.

"Oh! Right!" Anna hurried over the the door, kneeling down in front of the lock. After a few broken bobbie pins, the gate swung open. The pen was just like any other slave pen, complete with rotting mattresses and a dead, bloated body. The girl from before squinted at her in the sunlight.

"We're free to go right, you're not gonna pull anything?"

"Of course not!" Anna looked appalled for a moment. "You're free to- Wait!" Every slave froze. "I need your clothes."

"Oh, Like everyone hasn't taken enough from us already!" The girl huffed.

"Well, not all of your clothes. Just one outfit...like...Yours..." Anna glanced around, realizing she was the only female among the group. "I'll...uh...Compensate?" Anna started rummaging around in her pockets, pulling out some caps. At another raise of an eyebrow, Anna threw in some purified water and food into the deal. The girl still didn't seem too moved.

"You know we could just shoot you like we did those slavers..." Butch chimed in, tone dark. He didn't like this girl's attitude. Of course he felt bad about bullying a slave girl to giving up her only worldly possession, He just figured she'd be a little more thankful to her rescuers. Anna elbowed him sharply, afraid he just ruined everything.

The Slave girl looked at the pair, eyes wide with a bit of fear. She then relaxed slightly.

"F-Fine. I'll take caps and supplies and go, Jesus." The slave girl began stripping in front of them, Anna's hand rose up just in time to cover Butch's eyes.

"Really!?" He grabbed her wrist.

"Thank you!" She called after the girl. Poor girl had to go out in her wasteland in only her underwear. Anna didn't hesitate, however, to start stripping herself. Her plates of armor coming off one at a time.

"You gonna cover my eyes again?" Butch taunted her. She replied by throwing her shirt at him.

"Hows this? Besides drafty." Anna spun in small circle, showing off her new rags that barely passed as clothes.

"That's...uh...A lot of skin." Butch blurted, rubbing the back of his neck. By the time he realized what he had just said, it was far too late to take it back. Anna looked at him confused for a moment, then laughed.

"Jesus Butch, get your mind out of the gutter..."

"Alright! You got a disguise. Good. Good. We're ready to head out." Wernher said hurriedly in a hushed tone. "I'll meet you up by the tunnel that leads to The Pitt. You go get whatever you'll need for the trip."

"Uh...OK?" Anna blinked, Where the hell had he come from? Butch's eyes narrowed. The low life must have followed them all the way here, and not bothered to help. What the hell was this guys damage? "We'll meet you there." Anna frowned a bit, but didn't mention anything else.

"Whatever you say, Hero. Just don't take too long. We need to get started. This ain't a short trip." He glanced at Butch wearily. "As for your friend...It'd be easier If it was just the two of us on the road."

"Oh come on!" Butch finally snapped. Wernher had finally dared to cross that line. The ginger threw up his hands in surrender.

"Talk to him!? Please? We don't have time for this!" He huffed, glancing between the pair before running off towards the train tunnel. Anna sighed watching the man vanish behind the door before addressing Butch.

"You know it was kind of obvious how this was going to play out, we only needed one slave outfit."

"Yeah! But I figured...I don't know...I'd do something. Ain't no way I'm letting you head out on your own with that creep to some dangerous place." Anna tilted her head.

"Awh, Are you being protective of me? That's so sweet."

"No I ain't, I'm being smart!" Butch seriously was upset, which took Anna off guard a bit.

"Butch, All I want to do is help people. I'll be safe. Promise! You know I can handle myself." Butch glared at her, unmoved. "Butch!" He simply crossed his arms.

"This was a stupid idea." He stated. Anna groaned, racking her brain. She couldn't just leave Butch like this. After some thought, she leaned up towards him, placing her hands gently on his chest.

"You can be my plan B."

"What?"

"Put it this way...If I do need bailing out...You'll be here and can come and help. Got it? Just give me sometime. I promise. You can be my knight in shining armor it it makes you happy." She made sure to bat her eyelashes, looking up at Butch with the most innocent look she could manage. He finally crumbled.

"I swear if you get fuck'n killed I will find a way to bring you back to life just so I can kill you again myself." Anna grinned wildly. Kissing him on the cheek.

"I promise everything will be fine."

"Hey..." Butch's anger melted, his arm unfolding to come around her waist. He kissed her on the lips, sweetly. The embrace was short lived as Anna pulled away.

"I'll be back...You'll see." She kissed him one last time and parted. Butch was hesitant to let go of course, but he soon allowed her to slip of of his arms like sand, watching her make her way to the tunnel before disappearing behind the door. He just hoped to god that wouldn't the last time her ever saw her.


	8. Oh, Don't Mind Me (Into the Pitt Part 2)

Anna figured it would be bad, but not this bad.

It had been surprisingly easy to get in, the guard had mistook her as just another runaway slave, just like they had planed. As Anna walked past the heavily armed guards, the weight of the smuggled knife felt heavy against her. She hadn't felt this exposed sense leaving the vault.

She kept her head down, but her eyes rapidly soaked in the depressing scene around her. Slaves were forced to pick at the smog filled corpse of the city. The guards paraded around like kings, whips gripped in one hand, as if it was their crown. The heat was also a surprise, nearly unbearable in some areas. Anna felt like she was being smothered to death, she had only been there for about an hour or so.

Another striking detail Anna noticed was the condition of the slaves themselves. Much like the city, they were worn down, each one tired to the bone. They were of varying ages of course, Gender seemed random. What made some stand out against the rest was how pale they seemed, weak. Anna would only get a passing glance at them, but they seemed sick. Horribly sick. This must have been the sickness Wernher had warned about.

Anna focused her eyes ahead. One wrong move, and someone could figure out she wasn't from around here. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm as she made her way down narrow alleyways. She just needed to find-

"M-Midea?" She had nearly rammed right into a young colored woman. She seemed to see right through her, one glance and Midea understood.

"Wernher sent you, didn't he? Good. He finally found someone." Anna nodded vaguely, all of this didn't seem real anymore. "We can't talk out in the open like this. Meet me in my house as soon as you can. We'll talk there." Midea glanced around nervously, as if the shadows themselves had ears. Anna wasn't sure what to think as she followed the stranger back to her 'house' or better said, a makeshift one. The said house was barely a room in the side of what should have been a condemned building. Midea didn't give her any time to get comfortable.

"Alright, we can talk now but we shouldn't take too long. They saw you come in here, So they'll come looking for you if you take to long. I have a plan for getting you into Ashur's palace, but we need to wait. In the mean time, you're going to have to blend in."

"Uh, Could you slow down? What's going on here?" Anna's brain was stumbling to keep up. Midea took a heavy breath, still pressed for time.

"I don't know what you saw on the way in, but the guards don't really take kindly to workers just standing around. You're going to need to look busy, or they'll sniff you out pretty quickly. And if they get too close, you don't look like you belong here."

Anna frowned, glancing down at herself. She was of course still in slave garb, and covered in the soot and ash that was in the air, plus the mud Wernher made a point to rub on her face and arms.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm pretty sure I can handle it...So what is it?" Anna tried to imagine herself doing the back breaking work she had gotten a preview of walking in.

"Outside of the mill, there are a bunch of old steel ingots just laying around. Every so often, the foreman puts out a work order to collect them. Its practically a death sentence and they never assign it to anyone. They make us pick who's going to do it. Bastards." This caused Anna to hesitate.

"Why is it a death sentence? Are there super mutants or something?"

"What the hell is a super mutant?" Midea's eye widened a moment before she shook her head. "You know what, don't tell me. I don't want to know. The area's full of Trogs." The name gave her a small shiver as she said it.

"What the hell is a Trog?" Anna had a hard time imagining anything that horrible with the name 'Trog' It sounded close to some time of fish to her.

"They're what most of us hope we never become. The contamination gets to everyone to some degree. For most people, It's some form of cancer. Sometimes harmless, sometimes not. For others, the contamination drives them insane. If it doesn't kill them , it changes them. They become animales - Deformed and inhuman. It's not pretty. They're everywhere and they kill on sight." The grave look in Midea's eyes never left as she stared Anna down. Anna got the feeling that more and more hope was resting on her with every word of information that was shared with her. Yeah, no pressure.

"So...What am I supposed to do if I run into one? Fight them off with my bare hands?" She knew she was dead meat if that was the case. She did have the knife she smuggled in, but that was mainly for the guards if something went wrong. She would need something better if she were to go up against anything inhuman. Anna was horrible at anything close ranged. She just didn't have the strength. She had also gotten used to Butch doing all the heavy lifting out in the wastes.

"I can't really help you there. Ask around. Maybe check with Marco in the Mill. He's been making some of our tools into weapons. You might even be able to find a gun on one of the dead bosses out in the steelyard. They- What was that?" The girls had just enough time to scramble back from the door before it burst open, in walking one of the guards.

You could tell by just looking at the man he had a hot temper, and that had nothing to do with the the gun he was waving around.

"What going on in here!? Midea! Who is this scab?" The man barked impatiently. Midea's demeter changed entirely. She closed in on herself. Any vibe of self confidence withered as she willed her mouth to move quick enough.

"Uh...Nothing. Nothing...uh...sir! I was just telling this new worker about the job that the foreman posted."

"Oh yeah? So she's the one that's going to the steelyard, huh?" He looked Anna up and down, eyes lingering on her a bit longer then she was comfortable with. He then cracked a horrible, cocky smirk. "Shame." His smile only widened when he noticed the look of distaste that flushed onto her face.

"Yes sir. I told her what she needs to do. 10 ingots. As fast as she can." Midea said a bit louder than necessary to draw the guard back to their conversation, also to make sure Anna absorbed the last bit of information she needed.

"Well then, I hope you also said goodbye!" He broke out into a raspy fit of laughter as if he had just told the greatest joke in the wastes. On a flip of a dime he sobered. "Alright, play time's over. Get to work, grinders."

Just like that Anna was thrust into the role of a slave. She was reminded of the time where she had convinced Butch it was a good idea to dive off the highest point of the over pass down into a lake below it. Although it was hot that day, the water below was breathtakingly cold. This whole time she had been falling, and now, she had finally hit the water.

"So you're the lucky scab gathering ingots for me today, hu?" A guard standing just outside the door to the steelyard flashed Anna a cruel smile of rotted teeth.

"Yes...Sir!" Anna quickly added.

"Nice to see at least some of you loafers have manners. Well, follow me!"

The man then proceeded to lead Anna through the door. Unlike some of the other guard, this one didn't seem eager to draw blood. He calmly chatted her up as she followed.

"So, Steelyard duty, eh? Who'd you piss off to get that death sentence? Actually, don't even tell me. It's not like you'll be alive for long anyway."

So much for him not being eager.

"Do me a favor will ya? Die close to the door so I don't have to go as far to loot your body!" He stopped in front of a steel door and laughed. Anna scowled.

"I'm a slave! What the hell do you think I have on me that's worth looting?"

The guard paused in thought for a moment, then scowled.

"Bah! Just get in there! Don't you dare come back without at least 10 ingots!" The guard shoved her out into the steelyard and slammed the door shut behind her. The bang echoed throughout the yard, stirring something in the darkness.

Anna crouched down, feeling her heart pick up the pace as she stared into the steelyard. She jumped when a sudden plume of flame burst through through a smoke stack a few feet up. She could almost hear the ghosts of the yard laughing at her. Inching forward carefully, she came across a dead slave, a gun and some ammo scattered around him along with two silver ingots. Anna gave a sigh of relief and she felt hope flood her system. She snatched them all up quickly, assessing the condition of the gun as she loaded. Last case scenario, for sure.

Anna took a deep breath and she switched the gun for the rusty pocket knife she had smuggled in. Two ingots down, eight to go. Maybe this was possible. She could totally do this. She didn't need Butch to always have her back. Anna made her way through the darkness until she heard a voice. This struck her with confusion as she carefully rounded the corner.

"Billy, it's me, your brother John-John. You remember me. Don't you, Billy?"

It was another slave, calmly talking to some...thing! Anna fought back the urge to just stand there and scream in terror. The creature 'John-John' was talking to was grotesque. In the low light, Anna could make out its humanoid shape crouching down. That's where the similarities ended, and the nightmare began. It's skin seemed to be twisted into its frame, rippling like decaying leather up and down its arms. The creature's elongated fingers and toes twitched eagerly as it addressed the slave before it. This was definitely a Trog.

The Trog paused for a moment, teeth (still the familiar molars of everyday humans, only blood stained.) bared in a sort of twisted grin. It stared at John-John for a moment, tilting its head before slowly coming forward towards the slave. It then suddenly growled. It was clear the only thing 'Billy' remembered was that he hadn't eaten in a few days.

"Billy?" John-John's face fell as he began to back away slowly. The growling continued as the Trog advanced. Anna glanced around, dying to jump in and help...By the time she'd sprinted to the other side of the fence and open the door, every Trog in the area would be on them. She couldn't risk giving her cover.

John-John made a break for the gate, yelping as what used to be his brother made a swipe at him, its claws barely missing him. John-John screamed as the Trog chased after him.

Oh to hell with it. Anna couldn't stand back and watch this any longer. She stood, starting to sprint, but it was too late. With one final swoop the Trog ended the slaves miserable life. Anna had just enough time to choke back a gasp before diving back into the shadows. She could hear growling on her side of the fence...

Anna's heart was racing as she took a right towards...well she had no idea. She just needed to find the ingots and get the hell out of there.

She nearly wept with joy as she found a set of robots in their stasis pods just waiting for someone to hack into their systems. She could hear shuffling behind her as she typed. With a sudden puff the robots came to life, soon after lasers were flying as all hell broke robots had quickly located the Trogs lurking in the shadows behind Anna as they slowly closed in on her. All Anna could do was duck out of the way as a small war zone erupted in the steel yard.

Anna gasped as she clashed with another Trog. It gave out a very unfriendly hiss and batted at her. Staggering back she fell to the ground, almost forgetting she had a knife in the first place. She swiped with her hand, the creature easily avoided the piercing metal. Recognizing it as a threat, it grabbed Anna's arm. Hissing something that almost sounded human before grabbing the knife and throwing it away. Anna cried out in agony as the Trog's crawls dug and ripped into the flesh of her arm. So this was how she was going to die. Far, Far from home. Away from Butch. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping Butch realized how much she loved him as she waited for the final blow

...Which never came. A welcoming 'zzzzzap!' sounded as the air around her electrified. She felt the hold on her vanish as the Trog turned to dust. Gasping, her eyes snapped open. To see the final robot croak out "hostile eliminated." before shutting down. The only thing Anna could do for a long while was sit there and catch her breath. She brought her arm up, shaking as she saw liquid rubies flush to the surface, spilling out and falling down in a slow moving river.

Swallowing back her fear and the rest of her tears, she forced herself to stand, bringing out the gun. She had to keep pushing on. To many people were depending on her. She vowed this steelyard would not become her grave as she forced her feet forward into the unwelcoming darkness of yet another nightmare.

It had been no easier retrieving the other 8 ingots from the bowels of the steelyard, but Anna had managed. She was alive. Right now, that was all that mattered to her mainly. She felt her arm throb steadily as she made her way back to Midea. Wrapped a dirty bandage, it was the best she could do. She had to savor the few stimpacks she found for greater times.

"Good. Just in time. Ashur has ordered everyone into the square. Rumor has it that he's going to open the arena. That's perfect for us." Midea immediately started the moment Anna walked in. 'Are you ok?' 'Oh, of course, Midea, just a scratch.' Anna muttered under her breath before asking;

"Arena, hu? Sounds fun!" Anna voice was dripping with sarcasm of course. Her whole body ached and she needed a good lie down. "So this is part of your plan?"

"It's simple, really. From time to time, Ashur opens up the arena. We call it The Hole. Any slave who wants to can fight against the gladiators. If you win, you get your freedom. More importantly: you get an audience with Ashur. It's the only way a slave will ever get to talk to him directly. You fight. You win. And when you go talk to Ashur, you take the cure." Midea talked about it as if it was something so simple, that even a 10 year old could manage it.

"So you're expecting he'll just give it to me?" Anna asked skeptically.

"Not exactly, no. Wernher has a... distraction planned. We haven't been making these weapons for nothing, you know." She offered a small, wistful smile at that. In the same moment, however it was gone. "But, when you're meeting with Ashur, you'll be close enough to grab the cure. Get it, and bring it to me." Anna opened her mouth to ask another question but was cut off. "Now let's get out there and listen to Ashur's speech. There'll be hell to pay if the guards catch us in here."

Anna wanted to cry as she watched Midea get up from her desk and quickly leave. Would it be to much to ask for a small nap? She brought out the single shot of Med-x she had found and injected it into her vein. She knew she was going to need an extra boost as she followed Midea outside and onto the next leg of her adventure.

* * *

**I promise Butch will return in the next chapter! **


	9. I Have a condition (Into the Pitt 3)

**A/N**

**Sorry this took a while...I got busy, then got unmotivated, then I just forgot. To make up for it this chapter is extra long! So please enjoy! **

* * *

The events for Anna passed by in a blur. There was a conscious part of her mind that warned her that something was wrong, but a much larger part that just didn't care. The next thing Anna knew she was standing in a place that smelled like shit, sweat, and blood, and she was also out of breath. She looked down at herself, dressed in mismatched pieces of armor, her hands were soaked in blood as if she had-

"Man! You just tore that guy apart!" A scarred woman blurted, a wild grin on her face. Anna jumped a little.

"I-I what?" Her eyes narrowed, head throbbing. Why was her head always hurting? The woman didn't have any time to reply before a man entered the small, dirty room.

"Well now, aren't you quite the scrapper? Congratulations."

Congratulations? What for? Anna had to think back...They were sending her to "The Hole" to fight for her freedom. She guessed she won, even though she didn't really remember winning. The last thing she remembered was stepping into the 'arena' and hearing a gunshot, then just white.

"You've done well," The man continued, "Ashur wishes to see you. The guards will be told to allow you to pass." He didn't elaborate any further, turning on his heel he ran out of the room. Anna stared blankly. That was it? What now?

"Your gear's in the locker in front of you. Enjoy your freedom, psycho." The scared girl from before gave a half-assed attempt at a smile as she lit her cigarette. Anna quietly did what she was told. It was nice to feel the familiar metal of her plasma rifle. However, no amount of comfort could help her ignore the pounding of her heart. She felt...wrong. Just horribly wrong, but she was in too deep to stop for a sick day. Taking a deep breath she gathered the rest of her gear, ready to make the short journey to Ashur's front door and hopefully to the cure...

* * *

Haven...Anna wasn't sure what to expect when she entered.

She got lost at least twice somehow before making it to the large twisted statue before her. Too many turns to take as she felt her mind slowly filling up with fog once again. The "Statue" before her was morbid. It represented a slave in chains. The look of its dark, elongated body gave her the shivers as she walked under it and to the doors of Haven.

The inside of the building looked no different from any other pre-war building. The rooms were trashed, falling apart, and some caved in. Everything was covered in at least 5 layers of dust and dirt. None of this mattered to Anna at all of course. She had a laser line of focus as she made her way to the elevator. She was about to meet the man who caused all of this. The man who had enslaved hundreds.

"Lord Ashur will be right with you. Feel free to wait inside, Champion." The guard posted just outside the office doors greeted her, voice muffled by a breathing mask. Anna's eyes scanned over him dully, the pain in her head getting so intense it was making her forget why she was here. She needed to get the cure. They needed that cure. People were counting on her.

"...And I'm telling you, I have it covered. I'll be with you, right after I maintain some order and dispense a little justice." A man in a modified suit of power armor said, focused on the guard he was talking to. Anna walked up quietly to the desk, content on listening. She assumed the man before her in the power armour was Ashur himself.

"And I suppose you'll follow that up by raising the dead?" The guard replied, far from convinced.

"No, but I may heal the infirm later in the week. Time permitting, of course." Ashur said sternly.

"Sir, We've had sightings of Wernher back in the city, and there's been an increase chatter between slaves."

"Workers." Ashur chidded, correcting him.

"What?" The man was taken aback.

"We call them 'workers.' Helps with morale, reminds them they might earn their freedom, someday." Anna nearly choked out a laugh at that one. It sounded rich to her, real rich. How dare he claim that's what they are? The guard waved a hand.

"Whatever we call them, they've been gathering makeshift weapons." Anna's stomach sank. Shit. They knew about that? The rebellion was damned then.

"All right, all right. Put your guards on alert, tell them to be on the lookout for anyone loitering too long downtown." Ashur by this point seemed more annoyed than anything. "And keep a watch on Midea at all times - anything big happens, it's bound to go through her." Glad to know Midea was right about the eyes on her...Anna just hoped she would be careful.

"Now," Ashur finally glanced up at her. "I've got a very important meeting with our new friend, so if anything big comes up, you use the intercom."

"Yes sir!" The guard gave a mock salute.

"Ok! Breaks over!" Ashur snapped, encouraging the guard to run off before turning to Anna. "Nice work in the hole, new blood. Knew you couldn't be one of our normal workers. So, that begs the question: who are you, and what are you doing in my city?" Anna paused, thinking carefully. She had to play her cards right.

"I heard The Pitt was building an army." She blurted. "I'm here to join."

"You heard right. And after a show like that, how could I refuse someone of your talents? While the rest of the world scrambles to survive, we have an army, industry, and thanks to a recent surprise, we've got no need to fear radiation. But we do have a few loose ends that still need tieing up. Tell me, do you know a man named Werner?" Anna took a deep breath.

"Yes...He was the one who brought me here." She figured honesty would be the best way to earn this man's trust.

"I appreciate your honesty. It's a rare virtue in this age. Wernher was my lieutenant until he betrayed me and escaped justice. And if I know him, he brought you here to steal something very dear to the city. Do you intend to follow through with his plan? Feel free to be honest. Please, don't be intimidated by the turret behind you." Ashur glared. Anna felt her blood start to pound. Her body tensed, that's what she got for being honest.

"He said...He said your discovery would free the slaves and cure them...How could I refuse to help them?" Anna had trouble finding her voice as her blood pounded. This is what she got for being honest.

"Easy enough. You could say no because he lied to you. My discovery is a miracle, but it isn't the type that sets slaves free. Now, it would do a lot more good if you were to-" Ashur would have gone on more, but was interrupted by the intercom.

"Lord Ashur! The slaves are rioting, and someone's armed them! We need you out here, and fast!" Ashur nearly growled, slamming a finger down on the com button.

"Dammit! I'm on my way." He released it, taking a deep breath to collect himself before facing Anna again. "I suggest you forget Wernher's offer, and consider mine: stop Wernher, and you'll have a bright future in the Pitt. Don't disappoint me, new blood." He gave one last warning glare before running off.

Anna took a deep breath, watching him leave. She only had one chance to do this and she didn't have time to question everything. She needed to grab the cure, and get out.

A lab occupied the room just down the hallway from Ashur's office. Anna was momentarily comforted by the sight of all the clean, gleaming metal, and the sharp smell of disinfectant. Anna's eyes bounced around the room, landing on a small infant. Why a baby was in a lab confused her, then she noticed the baby was hooked up to various monitors.

"Oh! I wasn't expecting Ashur to let you into the lab. I'm Sandra, and if I know my husband, he's already made you an offer to join us, right?" A woman with mousy brown hair and a lab coat looked up from her clipboard, setting it down on the table before making her way over to her. Anna gave a slight nod before the woman continued.

"So you're here to see our little miracle, aren't you? This is my daughter Marie: she can be a handful, but my little angel is going to save the city." The woman grinned, glancing at the small crib where the infant slept soundly. Anna got a sinking feeling in her gut.

"That's...Great...I have a feeling it isn't 'Bring your daughter to work day' so, why is she here in a lab?"

"Actually, it's a combination lab and nursery. Little Marie needs a lot of attention and care, if she's

going to cure the city."

"Your baby..." Anna said carefully, piecing two and two together. "Is the cure? No way...She's not a vaccine!" Anna refused to believe that she was the cure. She needed to steal the cure. She couldn't possibly steal a baby!

"Believe it or not, she's both. My daughter appears to have a naturally acquired immunity to any form of mutation. Basically, she won't turn into one of the Trogs. Or a ghoul, or anything else. And by studying her, we can keep that from happening to others, too."

"Aren't you worried about hurting Marie?" Anna felt like all the air had been sucked at of the room, sweat dripped down her forehead.

"Oh, no! These tests are perfectly safe!" Sanda seemed alarmed at even the thought. "In fact, between the crib and her uncanny health, she's probably the safest child in the world!"

'_Yeah...'_ Anna thought as she glanced between her and the crib _'Super safe...Not like her future kidnapper is currently standing in the same room as her and anything.' _Anna bit her lip and nodded. Sanda sensed Anna's uneasiness and assumed she was still simply worried about the baby.

"Ashur and I would never risk her health, and if that means it takes longer to develop a full cure, then, well...Everyone else can wait." Anna wanted to die on the spot. How could Wernher set her up to this? The cure had been a child this whole time and he never thought to bring it up? He's asking her to kidnap a child and take her away from its parents.

"If...If there's anything I can do to help...Just let me know." Anna offered in a weak voice. Sandra gave a warm smile.

"You're a dear, but things are well in hand, here. If you really want to help, you should probably go deal with whatever had Ashur rushing off in such a hurry...Or..." Her smile melted as she reached forward and placed the back of her hand on Anna's forehead. "Maybe you should rest for a while. You're burning up."Anna flinched at her touch, backing up a bit.

"I'm fine," the girl lied. She was anything but. Right now however she was much too conflicted and confused to be thinking rationally. Sanda sighed.

"I...I know about the hole...and what they do to you there," Sandra admitted. "It's...barbaric in a way...I don't like to dwell much on what my husband does and what he allows but..." Sandra looked as if she was about to confess something else, but changed her mind. "The work you do...It's important for all of us." Anna simply nodded, feeling a bit numb. "So...I guess I should be thanking you." Sandra's beaming smile returned. "You sure you're alright?" Anna nodded again. "Well, if you say so...Excuse me though, it's just about time to feed Marie."

Anna turned as she watched Sandra leave the room. The moment she was out of earshot Anna whined. Covering her mouth as panic washed over her. What was she supposed to do? What the fuck was she supposed to do? The slaves didn't want to harm her of course...Just needed the cure, and a bartering chip. No harm done. But what if there was harm done? Would they know what they were doing? Wouldn't Marie just be better kept in this safe house with her loving mother?

The baby cooed, dragging Anna's attention up. a certain...something washed over her as she carefully made her way over to gaze down at the baby. The clock was ticking...This could be her only chance...Anna felt her fingers graze against the warm metal of a stealth boy in her pocket.

* * *

Thinking back, Anna wasn't sure if she had ever held a baby in her life. Normally her father would take care of them back in the vault without her help. She remembered supporting the head was important. God, Anna just felt like she was holding a tiny egg. One wrong move and . . . splat!

Anna crouched low as she hurried past the guard unnoticed thanks to her pipboy. Marie barely made a sound. Sneaking down the steps, she was almost home free, just had to make it to the door and - BLAM. The front doors burst open. Anna nearly screamed when she recognized the man who stepped through the doorway, letting out a rapid fire of bullets from his rifle.

Butch Deloria, in all his glory, had come to save his girl. He apparently had gotten tired of waiting back home for her, and was ready to kick some ass to find her again. He had also brought some friends. A handful of wastelanders flooded the room, (No doubt paid by Butch) quickly taking care of the nearby guards. By this point, Marie had burst out crying, completely ruining Anna's cover.

"Anna!?" Butch squinted, trying to focus on the translucent shape that was charging towards him.

"Yes. Asshole. The fuck are you doing here!?" She snapped. Butch frowned, reaching forward and powering down her stealthboy. He gasped when he saw her.

"Jesus...You don't look too good, babe." A rare look of concern spread across his face. He had never seen her so pale, and with such sickly bags under her eyes, And were those her veins showing through her skin?

"I. Am. Fine. Answer my question! God dammit Butch, you ruin everything I swear!" Anna huffed, jogging off. She didn't care if he followed or not, which of course he did.

"Is that...?" Butch craned his neck to look over her shoulder and into her arms. "What I think it is?"

"Hold it." She thrust the baby out to him. Butch's eyes went wide as he automatically did what he was told. Anna busied herself with picking the lock on another side door.

"May I- May I ask why you have a baby!?" Butch held Marie out at arm's length, as if the baby would bite him. For whatever reason, this treatment caused Marie to calm down, and even giggle a little. "Oh god, please don't tell me it's-" Click! The door swung open.

"For your information idiot, I'm stealing it. Now keep up or I'm leaving you behind." Anna glared back at him before rushing ahead. The look in her eyes gave him chills, and not in a good way. She wasn't his Nosebleed. Not for one red hot second. Something very, very, bad was going on.

"Wait, you're kidnapping this kid!? Are you insane!? Hey, Nosebleed! Talk to me dammit!" Butch ran after her, keeping in mind not to bounce the kid in his arms too much. Anna stopped short.

"Guards. Ahead. We need to do something about..." Anna looked to Marie, who although wide awake and rather confused, seemed to be enjoying herself. Butch panicked. The moment the guards found them with this kid, they were both dead. So, Butch did the only thing his mind could think to do. He unzipped his jacket, carefully stuffed the baby inside, and zipped it shut. Anna stared, but didn't have time for words before the guards were on them.

"Freeze! Hands where we can see them!" The first one ordered, rifle trained on them. Anna was relieved to see there were only two. Anna put her hands up.

"We're on _your_ side." Anna's eyes narrowed at them as they approached. "You think we all have time for this? There's a revolt going on around us and you-"

"Shut it!" The second guard cut her off. "We know you, you're that crazy chick who killed those two men with her bare hands. You were one of them, what makes us think you're really on _our _side?" Butch stared. Was that true? He could hardly imagine Anna doing that, just with her hands.

"Hey..." The first guard frowned, focused on Butch. More importantly, his jacket. "What...?" Butch glanced down. Marie of course was making a large, lumpy, bump underneath his jacket. Butch looked ahead.

"I...uh...Have a condition," He decided hesitantly.

"Too much radiation..." Anna kindly chimed in.

"It moved!" The second guard jumped back a bit.

"Once again...I have a condition." Butch bit his lip and Marie cooed and whined a bit, unhappy with the darkness. The first guard raised an eyebrow. "Thats also...Part of my condition?"

"Open the jacket!" The guard aimed his rifle at Butch now.

"Awh, come on man!" Butch shook his head, feeling his heart start to go into overdrive.

"Jacket. Now-" The guard didn't get to finish his sentence before Anna's elbow collided with the side of his head. The guard's gun fired of course, the shot startling the second guard into action. Butch took cover, he couldn't believe his ears as he heard Anna give out a loud hiss, just like those feral ghouls they were always shooting at, and attack both guards without drawing her weapon.

Bucth's eyes widened in terror at the sight of Anna sinking her nails into a guard's throat without any hesitation. Her eyes were glassy, as if she wasn't even seeing the horror and gore she was creating before her. Butch screamed at her, she finally stopped, hand raised to swipe her nails across the other guards face again. she blinked a few times. The final guard gave a startled whine, stumbling as he backed up.

"You-You-You're crazy man! Stay away!" The Guard sprinted off as Anna let go of the guard she was attacking, looking down at her blood covered hands. Butch just stared, and held Marie close. Anna let her hands drop to her side as she stared ahead for a moment, taking a deep breath.

"We need to get moving."

* * *

Butch was amazed that they made it to the safe house. Between the raiders shooting at them (Mindless that he had a baby in his arms) and the threatening hissing he kept hearing from the shadows in the steel yard, He could barely believe they were still alive.

"Hey asshole!" Anna yelled after slamming the door shut behind them. The room seemed empty for a few moments, then Wernher came forward out behind a makeshift wall.

"Ah, you finally made it. I've got everything ready and there are plenty of tests to run, so hurry up and put the brat in the crib." Wernher glanced at Butch, obviously a little curious about how he got here, but didn't say anything. Anna glared at him.

"You never told me I had to kidnap someone, Wernher!" Anna spat. She had murder written all over her face. She blamed him, and whatever illness was plaguing her wasn't helping to keep her cool.

"Yeah, because you would have just whined about it. If you aren't getting your hands dirty, you aren't making a difference. Welcome to the world. What's important is that the kid is here now, and we can move on to the last part of the plan." Anna huffed and crossed her arms, not sure if she wanted to 'help' anymore.

"That's just a simple matter of letting the Trogs overrun Haven and take care of the bosses for us." Anna's eyes widened.

"Are you fucking insane!? That wasn't the deal! I...I can't do this anymore!" Anna's hands flew up to hold her head.

"Oh, sure. You'll just march back to Ashur and his venomous little wifey, and say,-" Wernher raised the pitch of his voice drastically for the next part. "'Sorry I stole your firstborn. My mistake!'" His tone darkened once again, "You're in it this far, it's easier to follow through than it is to back out."

Anna's fists tightened. He had a point. Butch looked between her and the ginger, mouth hanging open and hopelessly lost in this situation.

"Fine," Anna said through her teeth, "I'll do it."

"That's the spirit. Nobody likes a quitter," Wernher gave a dark smile,"In fact, now comes the fun part: we wipe out all of those slavers in Uptown!" His words seemed to be dripping with his venomous attitude.

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"The only thing holding back an army of bloodthirsty Trogs is the floodlights. Shut off Uptown's lights, and the Trogs'll take care of the rest."

Butch felt like it was a bad time to ask what a Trog was.

"Wouldn't that leave me stuck in the middle of it? How am I supposed to get out?"

"My advice? Keep running until you're in downtown, and don't look back! Now, you can get to the power plant from a manhole down in the steelyard. Near the train tracks - you can't miss it. And here," Werhner handed her a stealthboy. "Take this - you'll want to stay hidden when the Trogs come. Sorry I don't have an extra one for your friend. Now get moving!" Wernher came forward and carefully took Marie from Butch's arms. She seemed upset by this, and started crying, making Butch question everything even more. Almost robotically, Anna turned and was out the door. Butch stopped her just outside.

"You wanna explain to me what the fuck is going on!?" He grabbed her arm, causing her to yank it out of his grasp roughly.

"You heard the man. We need to head down and-"

"No. Not that. Everything. You. What are you doing, man?" Butch let the tough guy act fall for just a second, which was a big mistake. Anna jabbed him in the shoulder.

"What am I doing!? I'm doing what will get me out of here. I'm sick of this place, sick of these people! I don't care who's enslaved and who's dying. I should have never come here. Now the longer we spend here the less time we have all together. Now come on." Anna gave him another warning glare before turning to lead the way. The sinking feeling to Bucth's stomach returned.

This wasn't Anna.

* * *

After walking down a few winding tunnels, the pair came to a gaping hole in the wall.

"Holy shit," Butch swore. A pile of blood and gore rested before them.

"Trogs," Anna stated, drawing her rifle and stepping over the many pieces of flesh.

"What now?" Butch stumbled, nearly tripping on a head.

"Something you don't wanna cross." Anna headed down the cavern. It connected to a train tunnel, with more gore littering the floor.

Butch knew it should be the last thing on his mind in this type of situation, but he couldn't help himself. He reached forward and grabbed her arm, stopping her and turning her towards him. She had a moment to flash him a warning look before he leaned down and kissed her.

"I missed you..." He breathed on her lips.

"Layoff." Anna snapped, shoving him away. "We've got work to do."

Butch was shocked. He'd never seen Anna so cold towards him, only back in the vault.

"...What's ya deal, hu?" Butch wasn't going to put up with it anymore. "You go away and now you're act'n like you're too cool for me!"

"Acting too cool!? Are you fucking kidding me!? I just don't want to deal with your shit right now, Butch!"

"Ain't that a joke! You're the one pulling all this shit. I thought we had something, babe! Something real special. Now you're act'n like you wanna throw it all away." Butch felt like he was talking to a stranger. Anna gripped her rifle until her knuckles turned white. Her eyes were so dark and...almost menacing. Like the only thing she could think of was killing him right on the spot.

"I don't care." After a long, painful silence, it was broken, along with whatever heart Butch had left. The corner of Butch's mouth twitched a bit. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but it sure as hell wasn't that.

"O-Oh yeah? well...Drop dead twice ya bitch!"

"What?...And look like you?" Anna whispered darkly, turning on her heel and carrying on her way. Butch huffed, kicking a rock against the cavern wall. He had half a mind to storm up to her and teach her a proper lesson, but they both knew he didn't have it in him. Butch turned back and started out the way they come, prepared to just drop everything and leave. No rescue mission, just go back home to the muddy rudder and enjoy a nice whiskey or two.

That's when he heard Anna stumble and fall, groaning pitifully. Butch couldn't stop himself from whipping around.

"Anna!?" He jogged back, finding her trying to pick herself up off the bloody metal floor. He was at her side in an instant, still pissed beyond words at her, but he was there for her.

"Spinning..." He managed to make out from her mumbling.

"Shit, Ann, maybe we should just-"

"Ssh!" Anna's head snapped up, messy bun bobbing from the sudden jerk. "You hear that?" Butch paused, glancing around. Very faintly, he heard scratching ahead of them. "Trogs..." Anna whispered. She stood, seemingly better now after her sudden dizzy spell and charged ahead. Butch swore once again and followed.

"You'll get yourself killed!" He called after her as he heard her open fire. Pulling his own revolver out he was forced to follow her lead. Butch had seen a lot of shit in the wasteland, but nothing compared to these abominations running towards him, not even the super mutants favorite pet. They were humanoid, which made them so much more horrifying as they sprinted at them on all 4's, taking bullet after bullet.

After a long battle through winding tunnels and confusing rooms, the pair made it to the floodlight controls more or less intact. Anna dropped her rifle, making a beeline to the computer and accessing it.

"Wait!" Butch called, grabbed her hand. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Anna stared at him, as if he had just asked her the hardest question in the universe. She looked to the computer, staring at the screen, finger hovering over the button that would kill a little over a hundred people in one of the most violent ways possible.


	10. Set in Stone (Into the Pitt 4)

**A/N**

**This is the final installment of the 'Into the Pitt" series. I had followed the original plot of the DLC pretty closely up until now, but this part is where everything totally derails. Please enjoy!**

**EDIT: And I just now realized I had posted the wrong chapter...Goes to show how many people are currently reading sense no one told me this mistake...whoops. **

* * *

Anna's hand shook as she seemed to be thinking carefully about her next move.

"...Anna?" Butch took a careful step forward while she took a sharp breath and slammed her hand down on the button. "Hey-!" he lunged forward and grabbed her hand, but it was too late. "Do ya- Do ya have any idea what you just did!?"

Butch had always preached how he hated the fact that she was such a goodie two shoes. He figured if she was a little more like him, and a little less like her saint of a dad, they'd get along more than just fine. But this? This was just downright heartless, and it scared Butch to his core. This wasn't her. This wasn't Anna. He took her by the shoulder and shook her a bit.

"Why would you do that, man!? Why the fuck would ya-" Anna pushed him off with such force he slammed back against the wall. He had no clue Anna had any of that in her. Looking up, Anna's eyes were dark and sunken, and her expression was eerily calm.

"Move..." She panted, it looked like she had trouble forming the words as she grunted them out through clenched teeth. "We need to...move." She reached forward and for a moment, Butch even flinched. She grabbed his arm and dragged him towards their only exit, through a sewer grate in uptown.

By the time they had surfaced the town was already flooded with Trogs. The people of uptown, the guards, slavers, and even those in Haven were not spared the horror and complete terror the Trogs brought with them from the shadows.

Sanda screamed with all her might as she watched with wide eyes as a few of the Trogs attacked her husband, not wasting a single moment to rip into his flesh with their freakishly long talons.

"No...NO!" She screamed as Ashuer screamed his last and went still. The Trogs began picking at his corpse, a few others starting to take notice of her. Sandra shook her head, first with daughter, and now her husband...All to end with her dying at the hands of the Trogs. She turned to run, only to come face to face with the kidnapper of her daughter.

"You!" Sandra cried. Anna's eyes seemed to glaze over for a moment or two as she looked at the carnage around them, almost as if admiring her work. "How could you!?" Sandra screamed at Anna, no longer caring about the immediate danger. "Where did you take Marie!? Answer me you bitch! You've taken everything from me! Everything! Do you hear me!?" Sandra sobbed, punching Anna square in the shoulder. Although her body registered the hit, she didn't react to it beyond dragging her eyes to Sandra's face.

In one quick movement Anna took the butt of her gun and slammed it against the poor sobbing womans head. She went down instantly, forced into a rather uneasy sleep.

"Grab her." Anna demanded, lowing her gun as she stared down at the woman.

"Are you fucking insane!?" Butch finally snapped. "The hell is wrong with you!? Jesus, who the hell are you!?" Butch tugged at his hair. Anna turned back to look at him, her eyes were blood shot.

"Just do as I say." She shook a little before turning and running ahead towards downtown. Butch swore once again, feeling he didn't have much choice. He picked up Sandra, carefully draping her over his shoulder as he tried to keep up with Anna, who seemed to be oblivious to the carnage around her.

Anna didn't slow down once they made it out of the blood bath. Butch had no clue how they had come out of there unscathed, yet here they were. He shouted at her all the way back to Wernher's little hide out. Anna didn't seem to hear him at all. He finally jerked her back by the shoulder.

"Stop. Just stop ok!?" It was hard to make out her face in the dark shadows of the abandoned steel yard. "The fuck is wrong with you?"

"Butch..." She whispered his name hoarsely, and for a single moment, she sounded like the old Anna again.

"...You're scaring me." He finally admitted, shifting the weight of Sandra on his shoulder. The woman groaned.

"Wha...?"

Almost robotically Anna turned back around and headed into Wernher's hideout, slamming the door behind her.

"Where...Where am I!? What's going on!?" Sandra began to panic as she came to.

"Cool ya jet's lady, you're safe." Butch set her down, careful to steady her. Sandra held her head.

"You...You were with her..." Her eyes narrowed. "You-!"

"I'm gonna stop you right there." Butch held up his hands. "Yeah, she's my girl. Don't mean I'm helping her. I'm just as confused as you are...No idea why she's doing all this. She's a goodie-two normally...ain't into any of this dark crap."

"Your...Girl?" She raised an eyebrow, having a hard time believing that anyone could love a girl as seemingly heartless and her child's kidnapper. "Look, I don't know what's going on or who you are..."

"Butch."

"Butch...But I need to find my daughter, Marie, she-"

"She's safe...I think at least. As I said, I just got here so-" Butch didn't get to finish before Wernher's scream interrupted them. They stood there shocked for a moment, before rushing into the compound.

There Anna stood in front of Wernher, back to the door. The ginger was pale, looking down at the lone wanderer with wide, glassy eyes. Blood dripping from his lips. Anna twisted the knife she had in his gut. His knife. The one he had given her to smuggle in to protect her.

"I didn't...W-Want this." Anna stammered a bit, whispering it so only the dying man could hear. "And I blame...You." She tugged on the knife, pulling it free. Wernher gave another whine, falling back. Anna stood over him, hand dripping his own blood. It was odd, and quite, but Butch could have sworn he heard wernher chuckle before his head fall to the side, wide, glassy eyes now vacant of any and all life.

"T-The shit!?" Butch gasped, horrified by the scene. Anna dropped the knife, stumbling back a bit as she held her head. She cried out. "What the hell is wrong with her!?"

"My god..." Sandra breathed. "She's turning into one of them."

"One of what!? Spite it out lady!"

"A Trog! She's turning into those 4 legged creatures..." She watched Anna carefully as she began making these horrible, feral noises. "In the beginning, they are prone to violent fits of rage, even homicidal...as you can see here."

"What the hell do we do then!? We can't just let her turn into one of those...those things!"

The last thing Anna remembered after that was snapping up, letting out a yowl as she whipped her hand back and raked her nails across Butch's face.

"You support her head, like this..."

"Oh...Oh! Gosh...She's just so tiny..."

Anna's eyes fluttered open to the sound of laughter. Staring up at the musty ceiling, she did a mental check of herself. Her body was stiff and sore, but otherwise whole. Her mouth was drier than sandpaper, and it felt like she was swallowing glass. She turned her head to the side to see Butch and Sandra conversing in the corner of the room. Little Marie was cradled (a bit awkwardly) in Butch's arms, fast asleep. Sandra laughed at Butch's reaction.

"I guess you don't come across very many newborns nowadays..." She said a bit sadly. Butch shrugged.

"Who the hell would want to bring a kid into this shitty world?" Sandra gave a knowing smile.

"Maybe one day you'll understand...I know it sounds crazy but...They'll be the best thing that ever happened to you." Sandra smiled faintly and stroked her baby's cheek. Butch gave a barking laugh.

"Yeah, right. I know for a fact we ain't gonna have kids..."

"Butch." Anna said hoarsely, she barely recognized her own voice. His head snapped to attention.

"Hey! You're wake!" Her moved to stand, then remembered the baby was still in his arms. Sandra, with all friendliness gone from her, easily scooped Marie back up into her arms leaving Butch free to jump to Anna's side.

"Here..." He picked up a water bottle that was next to the bed and helped Anna take a few sips.

"What...happened?" Her voice cracked, Butch's answer was more water, and a disappointed look.

"You mean you don't remember? Any of the times you've woken up sense now? Awh shoot doll, last time I thought..." He just sighed, setting the water bottle aside and stroking some loose hair out of her face.

"What do you mean 'woke up?'" Anna asked softly, this time Sandra stepped in.

"well, we're not exactly equipped to deal with a comma patient...You're lucky to come out of it enough times and get something down to keep that heart beating."

Anna's heart sunk a little at the sight of Sandra and little Marie. She felt so guilty...

"I...I guess I don't understand. What happened?"

Butch glanced between her and Sandra.

"You were sick doll, real sick...but the doc fixed you nice." Anna's eyes narrowed a bit.

"That scratch on your arm..." Sandra pointed out, causing Anna to weakly pull her right arm out from under the thin blanket. It was cleaned and wrapped in a bandage finally. "From a Trog no doubt right?" Anna nodded stiffly. "You were a first...No one around here had survived a Trog attack...Turns out the virus spreads faster through the blood than through the air."

"You mean...I'm turning into a Trog!?" Anna's eyes widened in horror.

"Hey! Whoa! You mean _were. _I told you, she fixed you up." Butch tried to calm her. Anna stared at Sandra for answers. The woman still had a cold, disapproving air towards her. Why the hell wouldn't she?

"It was...experimental still." Sandra began. Anna just felt like she wanted to scream. "I had a mix of a possible cure...I was going to test it first before even giving the news..."

Anna felt her blood run cold. The cure had been within everyones grasp, and she fucked it up. If only everyone had waited a few more months...The cure could have been here, right now, saving lives. Not to mention all the other lives that were lost in Uptown because of the Trog outbreak.

Anna felt nauseas as the room started to spin a little. This was all on her. She was finally thinking clearly again and was disgusted by herself. It was as if she had been drunk these past few weeks since getting infected, and she was finally sober.

"She didn't want to use it on ya, but I convinced her!" Butch chimed in. He meant well, but pretty much threw Sandra under the bus, but Anna didn't blame her. In fact, she was surprised.

"W-Why?" The words stumbled out of Anna's mouth she was still shocked.

"It was experimental, I didn't want to risk making your pain worse." Sandra could no longer look Anna in the eye. Instead she focused on Marie, who was cooing softly in her arms.

"No...That's not what I mean. Why did you help me?"

"...Because I'm not a monster like you." Sandra shattered the silence with her one sharp comment before excusing herself from the room.

Anna swallowed hard, returning her gaze up to the ceiling. She burned, but not physically. It was close to the same mental anguish she felt while watching her father die. How badly she wanted to change things, do something...but the past was already set in stone. Hot tears started to drip down the sides of her face as her sore body tensed. She barely felt Butch's hand on her arm, or the words he was frantically saying in her ear.

"...She just don't know ya' like I do! Ya hear? She's just upset. You were sick, you didn't know what you were doing...You just did what you thought you had to do, right?"

Butch spouted excuse after excuse as he gripped her hand. Anna just squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to hear any of it. She wasn't sure when Butch finally shut up, but she felt him gently kiss her forehead just before she drifted off into another nightmare filled sleep.


	11. Freddie my Love

**A/N**

**School is...a necessary evil**

* * *

The Capital wasteland was bone dry and dusty as always. The sun beating down and never letting up for a second as the two heroes walked the long winding road towards home. After a long few weeks of questing, it was decided they would head home. Megaton was just on the horizon, the rusted walls waiting eagerly for their return.

"The sky ever freak you out sometimes?" Butch took a quick swig from his flask. He was running low and he hated it. He gazed up at the sickly colored sky. He once saw in some old dusty book back in the vault that the sky used to be a clean, clear blue. Even the clouds looks clean and fluffy white. Now days it seemed to be a permanent, muddy green, with dusty clouds overhanging, somehow giving little relief from the sun.

"Freak me out? The sky?" Anna glanced back at him and frowned, jumping over a small rock. She followed Butch's gaze upward.

"Yeah, it's just so...big ya know? Makes me dizzy looking up at it sometimes." Butch stopped walking for a few moments to screw the cap back on his flask and shove it into his jacket.

"Vertigo?"

"Verta-what?"

"Nothing..." Anna shook her head, adjusting her pack on her shoulders as she moved forward. The couple walked in silence for another mile or two before coming up upon a trash heap. These piles were of course, common in the wasteland. Pre-war artifacts moved around by the bombs, animals and the people. Scavengers choosing a random stop in the wastes to be their favorite dumping ground, events like those happening over the years lead to a sizable island of junk to form. Some could find some pretty cool and useful stuff if they were patient enough.

"Hey, Isn't that a vault suit?" Butch stopped, eyes squinting out the sun as he looked towards the trash pile and focused on a figure currently digging through it.

"Looks like..." Anna mused, crossing her arms as she stopped next to Butch.

"Think they're friendly? Or just some fruit loop?"

"Who isn't a 'Fruit loop' out here, Butch?" She raised an eyebrow. "Well, there's only one way to find out..."

The couple walked forward, guard up, weapons close at hand as they got closer and closer to the stranger. A few yards away Anna stopped.

"Oh my god I know who it is." A subtle blush spread on her cheeks.

"What!? How so?" Butch glanced between her and the stranger.

"It's Freddie Gomez!"

"How do you know that from a billion feet away!?"

"I just know, ok!?"

"Nu-uh!"

"Look..." Anna huffed. "I...I would know that ass anywhere, alright? That is Freddie's."

"You...Wha-" Butch blinked a bit, taken aback. "You memorized what Freddie's ass looks like!?"

"Shut up! Like you didn't stare at Suzie Mack's boobs every chance you got!"

"That's different!"

"Different!?" Anna snorted. "How so!? What's the big deal, you know I had a thing for him back in school, so what?"

"I didn't think you'd memorize his fucking ass shape!"

"He has a very memorable ass shape!"

"Ain't that some news to me..." A new voice joined the conversation, causing both to jump. In between all the yelling, their mystery vault dweller had noticed them and walked over. Freddie gave the same old crooked smile he gave back in the vault. "Ain't it fancy meet'n you two out here!"

"I'll be damned! It is Freddie!" Butch's eyebrows shot up for a moment in surprise. His lips broke out into a rare grin. "You still wear'n that old, ratty jacket?"

"Hey, you're wearing yours too!" Freddie chimed back. The Boys then broke down into a very odd ritual that Anna could only assume was normal for the two. She couldn't make out a word, or any sense to movements. It reminded her of some of the old video's they had watched in school, the ones with the chimpanzees.

Freddie looked good. He was of course way more tanned and dirty than he was in the vault, and of course a bit older from the last time Anna had run into him. He looked...Happy. The fresh air had apparently done him good. Anna would never forget the day James diagnosed him with 'Vault Depressive syndrome' her dad had always tried to shoo her away when her classmates came to visit the clinic, but curiosity won over respect in those days. She remembered standing outside the door and realizing Freddie's behavior all through the years finally made sense.

The scene had just pulled at her heart strings and possibly made her fall for Freddie even more. What could she say? She was a teenager, didn't every teen girl think they were in love with someone at the time? Why she picked Freddie to become hung up on, she'd never know. She had always thought him handsome, even when they were kids. He seemed to be the happy medium mix of bad boy (Butch had way too much of that) and still have a sweet heart.

"You ok nosebleed?" Butch elbowed her, startling her out of her thoughts.

"You two are jacketed now!? I can't believe it! The whole vault will get a kick out of it! They'll never believe me!" Freddie cried, almost laughing in disbelief himself.

"How is the vault now days?" Anna crossed her arms, leaning against Butch. She hoped to use him as an anchor to avoid floating off into the long dead past.

"Ain't gonna lie, things have been pretty shitty." Freddie deflated a bit, and the normal sad look to him returned. "Supplies is low...Amata's been pretty good in keeping us all together and motivated...but I don't know...I just hope there ain't another...ya know..." He glanced at Butch, who knew exactly what he was talking about.

Butch glanced down, getting a hollow look in his eyes as he tried not to think about the past. Anna licked her lips, reminding herself she wasn't the only one who was haunted.

"You need supplies? Have you tried in Megaton? We have some stuff to spare." Anna offered.

"Really? You'd do that? Normally I wouldn't to...keep the peace." Freddie glanced at her up and down. Anna assumed there were some still in the vault who blamed her and her father for everything. "But, we could really use the help. They don't have to know it came from you guys, now do they?"

"What do you mean 'We'?" Butch's head snapped up. "You make sure to tell'em it was from Butch! That the Butch-man saved the vault!"

"Okay, let's not go that far..." Anna's eyes narrowed skeptically.

"Oh yeah! Wow! You'd be a hero! I would be too for bring'n the stuff back!" The boys once again broke down into their odd, loud behavior that caused Anna to roll her eyes.

"So, are we going to hit the road, or what?" Anna started the path again towards Megaton.

"Yeah, Yeah! Pushy!" Butch huffed, earning a snicker of approval from Freddie. Anna figured she should get used to Bucth's shitty behavior, he never stopped back in the vault. Anna had figured out years ago one of the main reason he acted like an ass was simply for attention. Sense Butch "her boyfriend" (That phrase still weirded her out sometimes) she thought that was sort of sweet in a twisted way.

The boys seemed to talk nonstop all the way back to Megaton. Anna didn't mind much. She did miss having small conversations with Butch to keep her mind at ease as the sun set, but she found Freddie's obnoxious laughter did just the same.

"How exciting!" Moira bubbled as she began boxing up the supplies Anna had bought for the vault.

"Somehow, I don't feel the same way..." She sighed, leaning against the counter. She crossed her arms as she thought.

"Well isn't he your old vault friend? You two could catch up! What fun!"

"Yeah but he's also-" Anna groaned.

"Uh-oh...I sense some drama coming up here. Come on, were you two lovers or something?" Moira laughed and winked as she put a lid on box number one.

"Ugh, No." Anna covered her face with a hand, peeking through her fingers. "He...was my grade school crush."

"AAAAAWH! Isn't that just the sweetest!" The ginger gushed.

"We, also were a thing for like five seconds." Anna admitted, causing Moira to gush again. "Not like- Ugh, why am I even taking the time to explain these things to you?" She exasperated.

"Because I am a likeable and trustworthy person?" Moira tilted her head like a puppy. Anna sighed, trying on a smile.

"Well...I'm hoping nothing will happen anyway...I'm sure it won't." She convinced herself. "I'm sure Freddie will visit for a while, then just go back home...Home to the vault and never, ever, ever come back out again."

"Ever?..." Moria's eyebrows shot up.

"Ever." Anna took up all the boxes of supplies with her and left the shop.

"Dude, don't be racist."

"How is is racist? I'm asking a question!"

"You just don't mention the ghoul thing to the ghoul, man!" Butch bopped Freddie on the head.

"No discount for you." Gob, the bartender grumbled as he polished a glass.

"Shit dude, I'm sorry! I was just wondering how you deal with you're uh...stuff...falling off." Freddie stared down into his beer bottle.

"Wait, you give discounts?" Butch interjected. "Do ya give me one?"

"Nope." Gob said coolly, putting away a glass.

"What!? Who do you give discounts too if not me? I'm like you're best customer!"

"People like you're girlfriend, bub."

"Wha-!? She barely comes in here!"

"You're right for once." Gob gave a raspy laugh, disappearing into the back. Butch huffed, slumping over his whiskey bottle.

"Speaking of girlfriend..." Freddie began, looking up. "How are you and the nosebleed? Never thought you'd get jacketed, Butch. Have to say I'm a bit impressed...and surprised!" Freddie cackled. The thought of Butch kissing up to a lady in a domestic setting was funner than a radroach wearing a party hat to him.

"Fine. We're just fine." Butch breathed, taking a large swig of whiskey.

"Guess you can mark her off ya list." Freddie giggled a bit.

"Say what now?" Butch looked, eyebrow raised.

"Ya know, your list. The list of all the girls you wanted to bang in the vault."

"Oh..." Butch groaned, shaking his head. "I'd forgotten all about that stupid list, man."

"Yeah, yeah! I remember it! Uh, let's see...Wally's sister was on there...that one girl who sat behind Paul who was a smart ass, Anna...and Then Amata." Freddie frowned. "I think I am forgetting a few, but either way, you got most of them!"

"Uh, Yeah man." He awkwardly high fived Freddie, which caused him to pause.

"Wait a second..." Freddie narrowed his eyes. "You have banged her? Right?"

Butch took another large drink of whiskey.

"Right!?" Freddie pressed. Butch tried to make the sip last as long as possible before the whiskey began to burn too much even for him. He coughed a bit before finally responding.

"It's...Different now man." Butch would not meet Freddie's eye.

"WHAT. I am hear'n ya correctly, right man!? You tell'n me you haven't banged her?" He laughed. "You two have at least made out a few times, right? Or are you that much of a-"

"Of course we've kissed and junk!" Butch snapped, face heated.

"Un-be-lievable." Freddie whistled a bit. "Can't say I'm not a little disappointed in ya man."

"I told ya man! It's different now! It's...It's different out here." Butch shrunk into himself some, figuring it would be pointless to try and explain it to the likes of Freddie.

"Different? Hell ya it's different. I'm not normally into buff dame's but Anna...I'm a bit curious about what's under all that armor if ya catch what I-"

Freddie was interrupted by Gob slamming a fist on the counter.

"I'll cut you two scum bags off if you don't stop talk'n about her like that. Show a little respect to a woman why don't ya?" Gob growled out. The Ghoul admired Anna in many ways, mainly her sticking up for him against the borderline slaver Moriarty.

"Can't he just spend the night at the saloon or something?" Anna asked as she slipped the last piece of her armor off.

"Well, He could...If he didn't get kicked out..."Butch replied meekly, his fingers nimbly braiding Anna's hair. The Wanderer sighed.

"Really Butch?"

"What the big deal anyway? We've got an extra bed and everything."

"Yeah...but..."

"But what?"

Anna sighed. There really wasn't any excuse. She just really didn't like digging up the past. Selfishly, she wanted Freddie gone. She wanted to return to the normal, barren wasteland way of life she had come to be ok with. One night couldn't ruin it all, right?

"Fine, but I swear to god if he snores just as loud as you-"

"I don't snore!" Butch swung her own braid into her face. "Anyway's, I'm out for a smoke." He turned, grabbing his pack of cigarettes and an old lighter.

"When you get lung cancer and die I won't cry~" Anna sang. Butch ignored her, so used to hearing it from her it just went into one ear and out the other. She heard the door swing shut behind him.

Anna turned back to the desk, emptying her pockets. What was with her lately, really? She was asking like she was living in some pre-war soap opera. That Freddie would bring up all these dirty secrets from her past that she didn't even have. Besides, Butch knew full well about their 5 second fling, and it wasn't like it meant much to either parties. She tugged off her thick green t-shirt and cargo pants, leaving her in just her boxer shorts and undershirt.

"I always thought you were pretty cute." A voice that wasn't Butch's sounded behind her, nearly giving her a heart attack. She spun around, hand flying to her hip where her pistol normally rested. She relaxed instantly recognizing Freddie's form, leaning against the door frame.

"Jesus, don't sneak up on me like that...figured you'd still be glued to Butch's side."

"I wanted to spend some time with you..." Freddie was obviously drunk, his words slipped from his mouth far too smoothly. He gave a crooked grin, pushing himself off of the doorframe and walking up to her. It was when Freddie was only inches apart from her did she remember she was only in her underwear.

"I always thought you cute..." He repeated in a low whisper. Anna's cheeks flushed a little.

"Uh...I have a personal bubble, and you're sorta-"

"You don't really like Butch, do ya?" He interrupted.

"I like him just fine." Anna shot back just as suddenly.

"Yeah, but, not as much to fuck him." He knew he struck a chord at her expression.

"Freddie." She said sternly, disapproving. How wasted was he?

"ooh, you like me better. Come on, I know you do." Freddie took yet another step forward, pressing her up against the metal desk. Anna swallowed thickly. He smelled similar to Butch, reeking of Cigarette smoke and booze, but with an undertone of...was that aftershave? Of course, He lived in a vault for crying out loud, why wouldn't-

Anna had stupidly let her mind get off track, so when Freddie leaned in and kissed her, she made no movement to stop him. His lips were warm, but tasted different. She swore her heart had leaped out of her chest as an electric shock rang through her body. The first kissed stunned her, the second one she was ready for. Her eyes falling shut as she felt his hands fit to her waist. She gripped the edges of desk as Freddie quickly took all her breath away.

Freddie parted, a triumphant smirk on his face as he allowed her to catch her breath. Anna quickly looked down, her knuckles turning white from their grip on the desk.

"Don't...Do that again." Was all She could manage. Freddie paused, then nodded, simply retiring to his room for the night. Anna stood there for a long while, trying to figure everything out. What was that? What that cheating? How did she feel about it? Did she still have all those feelings for Freddie?

Live and let live, right? What Butch didn't know, wouldn't hurt him. She thought to herself as she slipped into bed. Would he care anyway? It was just a kiss...

It wasn't like it meant much to either parties.


	12. The Almost First Time (Guest Writer)

**A/N**

This was written by my friend who is an amazing writer and tolerates my fallout obsession. enjoy!

* * *

"Mmm...Nosebleed, do that again," Butch mutters, his voice husky with arousal.

"Did you just freaking call me nosebleed?" Anna sat back on his hips, crossing her arms in what could have been disgust or disbelief. Butch couldn't decide.

"What?" Butch asked defensively, looking up at her, "Come on, I just call you that all the time and-"

"Whatever Butch, just shut up," Anna rolled her eyes.

She leaned down, tucking a few strands of hair behind one ear. Butch had made sure the first thing that went was that damned ponytail holder. He watched as she parted her lips, her eyes roaming over his face. She bit down on her lower lip slightly and Butch felt his stomach do a flip.

"What was it I was doing again?" Anna asked.

"What the fuck-"

"I was kissing you, I didn't think I did anything different."

"The - the thing!" Butch floundered, "You did the thing!"

"Use your words idiot-" Anna was interrupted by Butch's heavy sigh. He reached up and wrapped an arm around her torso, his other hand tangling in the strands of hair at the nape of her neck. He pulled her to him and kissed her.

Anna's eyes fluttered shut and she hummed softly, cupping Butch's face with her hands, resting her weight on him. The hand on her back slid down the thin material of her tank-top and rested on the small of her back. She moved into his touch, pressing her hips down into his and Butch smirked a bit against her lips, thoroughly enjoying the reaction he was getting out of her.

He trailed a line of kisses from the corner of her mouth to her neck. Butch could feel her wildly racing pulse as he kissed her neck, biting down lightly, intent on making a mark.

"Butch," Anna breathed, tilting her head to allow him better access as he sucked lightly on the skin, creating a hickey that he knew would later get him into trouble. For now though he continued biting and sucking, slipping the hand on her back down farther, cupping her ass, he squeezed and Anna squeaked.

"What's wrong doll?" Butch asked against her skin, drawing back.

Anna looked down at him, a rosy blush coloring her cheeks.

He leaned up, hooking a leg around hers, he smirked a bit.

"What're you-"

Anna gave a small rather surprised sound as he rolled them over so he was on top. The old bed squeaked, protesting against the sudden movement, and the large teddy bear that had been camped out on Anna's bed fell to the floor.

"Why do I have a feeling that was a metaphor for my childhood being over?" Anna asked as she watched the bear.

Butch groaned, "Will you stop being a square for two seconds and fucking kiss me?" he demanded.

"Well sorry-"

Butch cut her off mid-sassy-comeback by kissing her again. He could feel Anna's eye-roll but she went along with it, kissing him back. It wasn't long before Anna reached up, resting her hands on his chest, she slowly dragged her hands down, fingers digging slightly into the cotton t-shirt he wore, pressing just enough that a trail of goosebumps crawled across his skin. Butch felt his stomach do another flip. Anna's hands paused midway down his chest. He had left his Tunnel-Snakes jacket zipped a quarter way and Anna was clearly hung up. Last time he had taken the jacket off when they were in the house she had gone all loopy on him and told him that he was "naked" with the jacket off.

"Come on Anna," Butch said softly, smoothing some of her frizzy hair back with one hand, lightly drawing his fingers down one side of her face, resting at her chin he tipped it up slightly, "You scared?"

"No," She muttered, jerking her chin away and unzipping the jacket. She moved her hands back up and began pushing the jacket off. Butch decided to make her life a bit easier and took the jacket off, setting it on the floor.

"For godssakes it's a jacket," Anna watched him.

"That jacket is-"

"Blah, blah, blah," it was Anna's turn to interrupt as she grabbed his t-shirt with both hands and dragged him down so they could kiss again. She arched her hips up, purposefully grinding them against his and a low moan emerged from the back of Butch's throat. Anna blushed a bit at his response. She repeated the motion, eager to hear Butch repeat that sound.

"Fuck-" Butch managed against her lips, hooking his fingers into the bottom of her tank-top and pulling it up and over her head. He then went for her bra, whining a bit as she batted his hands away, "Come on doll."

"Butch, not yet," Anna pleaded, distracting him from further pursuing it by biting down on his lower lip and lightly tugging. His breath caught in his throat and his hips involuntarily bucked down into hers.

"Didn't know you were into that Butch-man," Anna breathed, looking up at him through her lashes. She wrapped an arm around his neck the other on the back of his head and drew him down for another kiss, this one far more tame. Butch kissed her for awhile, behaving himself before he tried going for her bra again, to his surprise she allowed him to unclasp it and fling it somewhere on the floor.

She gasped as he fondled her breasts, pinching her nipples slightly. She arched, giving a breathy moan as he took one of her nipples in his mouth and sucked. He drew back and gave the same treatment to the other one. He moved to kiss her mouth.

Anna trembled beneath his touch. Her heart-raced and her face was flushed with arousal. They had never really gotten this far before, and Anna was nervous but excited at the same time. She pushed up the hem of his shirt, running her fingers over the abs she was still rather surprised he had. She had to tug pointedly on his shirt a few times before he got the message and removed it. Running her hands down his chest she dug her nails in lightly, causing him to give a low moan.

His fingers fumbled a bit as he unbuttoned and unzipped her cargo pants, pushed them low on her hips, running his rough fingers over the smooth skin. It took a bit more cajoling and more kissing but he eventually got the pants off her.

Butch sat back a bit, eyes roving over her body. She squirmed, blushing slightly.

"What?" She demanded, looking up at him.

"Nothin' doll, just admiring the view," Butch said, leaning in to kiss her again. His touch was soft, not wanting to scare her off now that they had finally gotten this far. His hands moved towards his own jeans. Undoing the belt he was just about to unzip his pants when Anna froze.

"What?" Butch asked, stopping as well.

She said something too quiet for him to hear.

"You'll have to repeat that doll," Butch said, continuing to take his pants off.

"I've never seen you naked before," Anna managed, blushing a bit.

"So? I've seen you naked," Butch said, growing a bit irritated. All he could think was _'here we go again.' _He had pushed his jeans low on his hips when Anna grabbed his wrists.

"Please, Butch, I don't think I can do this-"

"Why the hell not?" Butch demanded, pulling free from her grasp and glaring at her. Her eyes were drawn to the hipbones that jutted out slightly and the faint trail of dark hair that trailed down. Her eyes slowly looked up to meet his.

"Because. . . because-"

"You're scared of a fucking penis?" Butch demanded.

"No!" Anna blushed.

"Then prove it," Butch muttered, leaning in and pressing a kiss to her collarbone.

"No, Butch stop, I can't," Anna pushed him away.

"Anna," Butch said rather angrily, "What is your problem?"

"I'm not ready to have sex with you, okay?" Anna snapped, "I'm sorry, but it takes two to tango, Butch, and I don't feel like dancing."

He huffed, rolling his eyes and climbing off her. He hiked his jeans back up and grabbed his shirt from the floor. He could feel Anna's eyes on him but he ignored her as he stood and picked up his jacket.

"Butch?" She asked softly.

"What?" He turned, jamming his hands in his jacket pockets.

"Come here?" She asked softly, looking at him with sad eyes.

"Aw hell no, I need a drink," He said, turning on his heel and marching out the door.


	13. Oh

Anna settled back against Butch as she gazed up at the cloudy night sky. They didn't even have wine this time, they had run out last week and Anna just never got around to finding some more. That didn't mean Butch was short or booze, however.

"You want any of this? It's almost out." Butch shook the nearly empty whiskey bottle in her face. Anna glanced down at her Nuka Cola, then back up at the bottle. She then shrugged and accepted it, finishing it off with one long drink before handing it back to him. "...You didn't have to drink all of it..." He said dejectedly.

"What!? You offered me like, two sips, what did you expect?"

"For you to take one sip!"

Anna huffed, sitting up and turning around.

"You're such an asshole sometimes, you know that right?" Butch simply scoffed.

"Ya know, everyone keeps saying that...but _I _don't think it's true." Anna's eyes narrowed.

"You were an asshole sense the day you we born."

"Harsh! That ain't what you were saying last night when you were-" Butch did not get to finish that sentence before anna jumped up and smacked him in the back of the head. "Ow!" He yelled.

"Oh quite it, I didn't hit you that hard."

"You did too, you- you-"

"'You-' what? I'm a what Butch. Say it." Her eye narrowed as she dared him. Butch was one wrong word away from getting kicked out for the night, maybe even the next night too depending on what he said next. Butch tensed up, jaw clenched, a fist gripped tight around the empty whiskey bottle. He stared up at her, him on his knees while she pressed herself up cooly against the guardrail, waiting for Butch to make a mess of this situation like he always did.

"Oh! You know what!?"

"What? Spit it out."

"I love you." He said, but rather angrily. as if he was insulting her. Anna stopped, each one of her defenses coming down just like that.

"You...What?" She asked quietly, staring at him as if he was the only living thing in the whole wasteland.

"You heard me." He said matter of factly, raising clumsily to his feet. He straightened out his jacket, replacing his anger with his favorite poker face. Anna was quiet for a while, trying to figure out if it was really him talking, or just the booze. "Well!?"

"Well what?" She finally blinked.

"Aren't you going to say it back?"

"What-? oh. Sorry." Butch glared.

"Well!?"

"Do...Do you really?" The look of hope of her face set Butch back a few.

"Love you?" He softened. She nodded vigorously.

"Of course I do. Why the hell wouldn't I? I mean..." He gestured. "You're just you."

"I love you too." the sentence flowed surprisingly easy for her. She gave a smile, almost in disbelief as the realization hit her. "I love you."

"Ah..." Butch nodded a bit. "Gosh, our relationship has hit a new low then."

"Low!?"

"We're getting all domestic and shit!" He looked away over the small town, Megaton, the health hazard they called home.

"And what's wrong with that?"

"I..." he took a deep breath, then turned to her, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her close. "I didn't leave the vault to do this, man! I came out here to make a name for myself. Prove my good-for-nothing dad wrong and make the badest gang in the wastes. But now, with you...I..." He glared down at the metal roof they were standing on. "I...I ain't seeing much point of running around risking our lives all the time...and that mess'n me up. because that's all I ever wanted to do...See? You're messing me up." He finally looked at her, wide blue eyes staring; waiting for a reply.

"That's sorta sweet in your weird, sorta shitty way." She responded, still smiling a bit. She brushed some loose strands of hair from his forehead. "Welcome to being an adult. It sucks...but welcome to the club." She leaned forward and kissed him, on the lips. Butch relaxed, figuring by now it was more than just pointless to try to hide anything from her. This whole love thing scared the shit out of him. It really did, but hearing her say those three words back made it all the more easier.


	14. Draft

4

Hands. He woke up to her hands, tracing up and down his skin. Back and forth in a soothing, hypnotic pattern. It was a boiling hot night in the wasteland, which was unusual given its desert like climate. All thanks to the atom bombs dropped long ago.

His eyes drifted open to pitch black, barely able to make out her small frame settled in bed next to him. She reached out her hand to gently drag along his stomach, causing his breath to catch in his throat.

"Butch..." It felt like he hadn't heard her voice in years. In an instant he was wide awake, scooting closer to her. The heat seemed to almost get unbearable that close. He was starting to feel like all the air was being sucked out of the room.

"What's ache'n ya?" He breathed into her ear, a hand coming up to settle carefully on her hip. Her skin felt like it was on fire. Anna paused for a long time, thinking carefully on how to answer.

"It's hot..." She tilted her head back slightly, the fabric of her pillow made a soft crinkle that sounded like an earthquake to him.

"Yeah? And here you are mak'n a bunch of friction, I thought you were smart nosebleed."

"Just...Shut up." Anna hushed him, a hand coming up the trace his collar bone. Butch forced himself to focus on his breathing. In and out. In and out. Anna shifted on the bed, sitting up and melting their bodies together. Butch's focus wavered as she rolled him over onto his back. She straddled his hips, her hair free of its normal bun and hanging over them like a thick curtain.

Her movements were slow, carefully thought out and formulated as she leaned down and kissed him softly at first. It was almost as if that was their very first kiss. With one hand holding her up, she took her free hand and brought it up to his jaw, feeling the sharp line and the rough skin under her fingers.

They kept the kiss slow at first, but it soon picked up in intensity the moment Anna gently bit down on his bottom lip. He just couldn't take it anymore. He took charge, setting the pace as his hands came up to her waist, snaking down her lower back and down to grope her ass as he got drunk off the taste of her lips.

Making out was nothing new for the pair, if anything it was a well rehearsed act. But this time it was different. Both were clumsy and impatient now, as he slipped his tongue into her mouth one of his hands was on the move again, slipping under her tank top. She shivered as he cupped her breast, moaning a bit in frustration over how much her tank top was in the way.

"Good god." Anna finally managed to pull away from his lips. She sat up again and peeled her tank top off. The movement made her that much more consensus of the thin layer of sweat that now clung to her body. She swallowed hard as she tossed her shirt to the floor, pulling her hair back. She was thankful for the late hour this was happening at and the darkness it brought, she was pretty sure she was a bright as a tomato as Butch stared up at her, hands resting on the top of her thighs.

"You just gonna stare at me or what?" Anna suddenly couldn't look at him. She shivered when she felt his hands move up, carefully tracing the sides of her waist. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Her heart was hammering like crazy in her rib cage. She felt like an idiot. They were both grown adults, the subject of sex should be the last thing that made her squeamish.

"Where'd ya get that one?" Butch suddenly spoke, Anna's eyes fluttered open as she felt him trace a long scar up from her hip bone to about her waist. His voice was soft, along with his touches as he tried to get her to calm down.

"I...I don't know..." Anna muttered, looking up at the ceiling as Butch leaned up to kiss between her breasts.

"You ok?" He asked as he layed back down, he waited for her to finally look at him.

"Yes." She tried to sound firm.

"You sure?"

"You're gonna make me change my mind!"

"Heeey!" He dragged out the word as he hurriedly went back to rubbing up and down her sides, his thumb grazing her bellybutton. "Just relax doll face, you'll be fine."

"I better be finer than fine." Anna regretted that sentence the moment it left her lips. Butch snorted, finally bringing his hands up to cup her breasts. She bit her lip as he dragged his thumbs over her nipples and squeezed slightly. He hummed in approval at the reaction it brought from her and continued on.

Anna struggled to remember to breath as she rocked her hips forward. She couldn't take it anymore, she needed to feel his kiss again. She bent forward, eagerly connecting their lips in yet another passionate kiss. She soon began to kiss downward. Biting down on his neck as he pinched her nipples, swearing a bit. Butch rolled her onto her back, giving a low chuckle before diving down to attack her breasts with his mouth.

"Jesus Christ, Butch!" Anna gasp, grabbing the back of his head. Normally, Butch would have killed her for messing up his hair, but he seemed to be indifferent as he gave another laugh, the small vibration on her skin caused her to shiver again.

"Wha?" He asked innocently, looking up.

"Just uh- How are we doing this?" She asked, trying to catch her breath.

"Come again?" Butch frowned a little bit.

"Well there's different types of sex, just want a heads up as to where this is going."

"Geez..." Butch rolled his eyes as he shifted downwards, dragging his hands down her stomach. "You think way too much, just relax babe, I've got ya." He sat up, fingers finally hitting the band of her boy shorts. Conveinent how both were already stirpped down to their underwear because of the heat.

"And what about protection? There is no way I'm having your spawn, Deloria."

"Harsh, and does it look like I got anything on me? It's the wasteland for crying out loud." He slipped off her briefs.

"I swear to god Butch if you-"

"Holy shit do you ever shut up!? I know you think you make the king's jive but really, cut the gas will you?"

"...Could you have fit anymore slang into that one sentence?" Her eyes narrowed, but soon widened as she gave out a squeal. Butch had tilted down and licked her inner thigh quite suddenly. "Jesus! Did you just lick me!?"

"Whaa? You don't like that?" Butch laughed as Anna tried to kick him.

"I hate you." She huffed.

"Ah sure, thats why you let me get you naked in OUR bed."

"Can't we just focus on the task at hand?"

"You're the one who keeps flapp'n your jaw." He scoffed. Anna gave him a stubborn silence. "You tune'n me out now, hu?" He leaned down, kissing her. She gave a short sigh as she melted into the kiss. Butch was partly right, it was nerves that was making her talk so much. She had never done this with anyone before, barely even thought of it. Tonight was an odd night, she had felt a strange emptiness come onto her, something that she knew he could help distract her from.

Her eyes fluttered open as Butch kicked his boxers off finally. Glancing down between them,She wasn't sure what to expect. So she was neither impressed, nor disappointed. There was also the fact she had nothing to compare it too, only the biological facts and charts.

"See somethin' ya like?" Butch asked with his classic, epicly annoying smirk.

"I was just thinking...I now know what a _real _Tunnel snake looks like now." Anna suppressed a giggle. His expression immediately turned sour.

"Will you quit joking around? for crying out loud, this is sorta serious!"

"You know, sometimes you are not as fun loving as you think." Anna scoffed as she reached down between them to drag her hand up his shaft. Butch became deathly quiet as She continued, gripping it and pumping it a few times before he let out a soft squeak.

Anna bit her lip as she shifted closer, judging that Butch approved of her actions thus far as his breathing picked up, gaze focused downward. He lifted a hand, placing it low on her back as he swallowed. The couple remained silent, the room filling up with only breathless sighs and kisses. the minutes seemed timeless between the pair as they explored each others bodies.

Anna clawed softly at his chest as he lifted her hips up, lining himself up with her moist entrance.

"You alright?" He muttered between kisses,she nodded.

"Just...Just go slow...ok?" She wrapped her arms around his neck. Butch promised as he guided her hips downward. Anna's mouth hung open a bit stupidly, eyes shut as her head tilted back. She scarcely breathed as her brain tried to process all the physical and emotional influx.

Nothing seemed to matter at all as the two focused only on each other. Each one of her senses were on fire as she thrusted her hips downwards to meet his. Her mind unable to think of anything else except the pleasure he was bringing her.

She only opened her eyes when he began to pull out, her body shuddering. She had no clue how how much time had passed or how long it had taken for her to reach her own breaking point, but Butch was never that far behind her. She collapsed next to him, breathing hard, staring up at the ceiling.

"Well damn..." Butch panted, stretching out a bit.

"Good damn? or bad?"

"Good...very good damn." He breathed, pulling his hair back.

"Yeah...?" Anna rolled onto her side, propping her head up. He turned and nodded. She could barely make out his face in the dark. She wanted to tell him she loved him, but figured that might make the situation too heavy, and ruin the perfect moment. Instead, She just smiled, laying her head back down again, scooting close to him despite the heat. The restlessness in her gone now, it didn't take long for her to drift off the sleep.


	15. Raining on Prom Night

"Stop fussing! You look great! Now go! You want to be late for you own prom?" James chuckled a bit, lowering his camera.

"I'm not the one who's fussing, its Jonas!" Anna huffed, side stepping away from the man as he tried once again in vain to 'fix' her hair.

"Told you you should have done something more with your hair." Amata taunted. They all watched as Jonas flushed lightly.

"She...had a few loose hairs." He tried to defend himself. Amata just giggled as Anna took her hand.

"Ok, We are leaving before he breaks out the hair gel." She lead her friend to the door.

"Have fun sweetie. Please be responsible." James asked of her.

"Dad, there's only like...9 people in our graduating class. How wild can it get?" She smiled meekly, rising on her toes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before slipping out the door.

"I thought we'd never get out there!" Amata breathed.

"Dad was right about being late, come on!" Anna allowed her to at least hike her dress up a bit before both started to jog down the corridor.

It was oddly liberating to switch out the old vault suit for some antique hand-me-down dresses. The Prom was almost the pinnacle of any young vault dwellers lives. It was a chance to finally change things up, and a chance to actually party. (Not to mention getting to stay up past curfew.)

It was a very old tradition, not to vault teck code of course. It was started by some of the few first vault dwellers in 101. The dresses they were wearing were "loaned." passed down and rented like one big goodwill formal store for a few weeks before. Some of the dresses were just rags by this point, and the tux's weren't that much better off.

"Ah!" Amata gave a charmed cry, stopping in the doorway to the commons. This was it! Anna held her breath as she turned the corner...only to simply let it out in one big puff of...Whelmness? She didn't know what she was expecting in all honestly. She wasn't disappointed no, but also not surprised. The commons was decorated with a handful of yellow and blue streamers. The tables and benches were all pushed to the side of the room to make room for a dance floor. Refreshments were also set up in a corner of the room. The jukebox played very softly in another corner (on account of not wanting to disturb the older residents.) The class was very segregated on top of everything else. Girls chattering on one end of the room, boys on the other.

"Well..." Anna began.

"Doesn't everything look great?" Amata grinned, turning to her friend. .Anna had forgotten she was the leader of the committee who put this all together.

"Uh...Yeah...Everything looks great!"

"Oh, you're not just saying that are you?"

"Of course not! I can see all the hard work you put in on it."

"Look! We even have a balloon!" Amata seemed ecstatic as she dragged Anna into the room and pointed out a single balloon floating sadly by itself.

"Zoey found it in the old decorations! I'm so glad it could still inflate!" Amata beamed, turning to Anna as she stared. Her face slowly turning more and more red. "Are...You ok?"

She couldn't take it anymore, she burst out laughing. It was the light, breathless type of laugh that couldn't easily be stopped. She kept on until tears pricked her eyes.

"O-Only...one...!?" She asked between giggles. Finally Amata cracked a smile, giggling along.

"Pretty pitiful right? Honestly all of us forgot about the decorations until just last night. All of this was thrown together." Amata explained as Anna calmed down.

"Oh my goodness...My sides hurt now...So what's this? The last sacred vault balloon in the whole world?"

"Maybe." She shrugged.

"And we used it for our high school prom..."

"Well...what else?"

"I don't know...a wedding or something? I remember I had some at my birthday..."

"That was before the helium shortage."

Anna glanced around the room again. The dance floor was completely dead. The teens still glued into their cliques.

"Wow...We really know how to have a party..." She commented, smile fading slightly.

"I know...No one's even dancing! Why on earth come to this thing if you're not even going to dance?" Amata frowned at a small trio of girls near by, as if they were the ones enforcing the unsaid dance policy.

"Well...Let's change it. Maybe they'll jump in after us." Anna shrugged, walking out to the dancefloor.

"I...I don't feel comfortable being the ONLY ones dancing. I don't know how!"

"Me either." Anna shrugged. "I don't know...Just...do whatever comes to mind." She started to sway to the beat, enjoying how her skirt seemed to float and shadow her moments. Amata watched, arms wrapped around herself as if she was asking her to jump into a swimming pool with all her clothes on for no good reason. Anna laughed, giving a twirl. She watched the room spin around her, colors blending and warping. She was just coming to the realization that she may be spinning a bit too fast when she rammed right into a very solid mass.

"Hey! Watch where you're go'n nosebleed, jesus!" She looked up to see her worse nightmare, not just one Butch Deloria, but three. She stumbled a bit, getting her bearings.

"Have you ever considered that the dance floor maybe for dancing Butch? Or is that a too civilized concept for you?" The rest of the tunnel snakes 'oohed' around her. Butch rolled his eyes.

"Dancing is for squares like you, nosebleed. I don't dance."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Anna gave him a once over, he wasn't even dressed in a tux, just his normal vault suit and leather jacket.

"It's a party. Duh." He raised an eyebrow.

"But isn't 'Dancing for squares?'"

"Listen, you don't have to dance to have a good time someplace, alright?" He shoved her out of the way, him and the rest of his douche-y gang heading towards the refreshments table.

"They're so rude..." Amata commented as Anna rubbed her now throbbing shoulder.. "You alright?" she joined Anna on the dancefloor.

"Hey! You're out here! Now dance with me. Come on, I already made a fool of myself." Anna took Amata's wrists, doing a few small little hops in excitement, all pain instantly forgotten. Amata sighed, but the smile never left her lips.

"Alright, Alright, geez. I didn't think you were really much of a party type after Butch tried to beat you up and your very own...I mean you didn't even go to Susie's party." She followed Anna's lead with swaying slightly to the beat of the song.

"You forget I wasn't invited. The Mack's hate me and Dad remember? For whatever reason." She shrugged. Amata flushed with embarrassment.

"Oh! Gosh, I'm sorry. I didn't know!"

"It's fine, I just spent time helping my dad in the clinic." Anna was about to change the subject was a sharp 'POP!' Echoed through the room. All of the hushed chatter stopped as eyes shifted to the corner. The sad, one colorful balloon now floated in the ground in tatters. Wally Mack was scampering away from the scene, failing to suppress his snickers. Amata's face started to turn red with anger.

"Wally Mack!" She huffed, crossing her arms in disbelief. "Curse those stupid Tunnel Snakes! They ruin everything." Anna disliked them just as much as the next guy,but she was REALLY tired of their actions and refused to put up with it tonight. She marched over to the group who was crowded around the punch bowl.

"DELORIA." Anna snapped so loud it echoed. Butch jumped, he was in the middle of unscrewing the top to his flask.

"Jesus, you trying to make me deaf or something? What?" He looked at her with disinterest as she stormed over.

"Don't. Touch. The punch." She demanded, shoving Paul out of the way to face Butch directly across the table.

"Ah, come on! We just wanna liven this place a little." He shrugged, uncapping the flask. "You need to learn to live a little!"

"Butch NO."

"Look, I'll tell ya what." He smirked. "You prove to us you're not such a wet rag and we'll leave." Instead of tipping his flask into the bowl he handed it to her. She gazed at it as if he was offering her a flask of poison instead of liquor. Anna had never drank before, not even a drop. She once tried to steal a taste of her father's scotch once. ONCE being the key word. She was of course caught and was lectured for about a half hour.

"Anna, Don't." Amata came up and put a hand on her shoulder. "Let's just keep dancing. We're not even old enough to drink!" Despite the angel on her shoulder pleading with her not to, she reached forward and took the flask from him. The group of boys let out a few cheers, but quickly hushed again. Butch's gaze never left Anna as she studied the flask. It smelled like straight vodka.

"Jesus, you drink this stuff all the time?"

"Quit stall'en and just drink it already!"

Anna took a deep breath and took a swig. She nearly almost threw up as she forced the horrible liquid down. The Liquid was sharp and dry and nothing like she really thought it would be. She figured it would have to be a bit more tasteful in order to have people drink it often. She coughed into her elbow as she thrust the flask back at Butch.

"T-There!" Her voice cracked as she grimaced once again.

"Well alright!" Butch laughed, taking his own drink from it. "I didn't think you had it in ya." God, Anna just wanted to slap that smirk off his stupid little face. She paused, in thought.

"On second thought..." She reached forward and quickly snatched the flask out of his unsuspecting hand again. The greaser's eyes widened at the fact.

"Hey...Give it back. I said just a drink."

"You were gonna dump the whole thing in the punch bowl anyway. "

"Yeah, and then drink the punch stupid! Give it back."

"Nope." Anna slipped it behind her back, head tilting every so slightly in a playful manner before she turned and hurried off out of the mess hall.

"Genesis!" Now it was his turn to yell out. "Come on boys. We've got a rat to catch."

"What? Why do we have to go? It's your stupid flask we've got our own!" Wally argued. Butch didn't give an answer as he stormed off after the girl.

* * *

Anna giggled to herself as she stumbled down the steps to utilities. This had been one big game of tag, and it had all gone to her head. Unscrewing the cap to the flask again, she tipped it back, but frowned when she realized it was empty. During the night she had kept stealing sips off of it every time to had found a good spot to hide and rest. She must had stolen one to many sips. No matter, at least she saved the punch bowl.

"Found you!" She jumped about a mile as a large hand clamped down on her shoulder. It was Butch Deloria himself. A blush quickly crawled onto her face for some reason.

"Ooooh...Hiya. Fancy meeting you here." She giggled again, looking back up at him. She just felt so light, like she could just float to the ceiling and never come back.

"Man, Don't you ever get tired? You've been having us run around vault the whole god damn vault. Now Gimme my flask back!" He reached for it, Anna responded by moving it away from his grasp.

"Nu-uh! You're not getting it that-" Before she hit the final word she was in the air. Her feet knocked into Butch's shin as with one arm wrapped around her waist he lifted her, moving her into him as he snatched his prize from her. "Hey...No fair." She said weakly as she was set back down, sandwiched between him and the metal wall.

"It ain't fun anymore. I oughta kick the shit out of you." He huffed, looking the metal surface over for any blemishes. "Wait...Did you drink this whole thing!?"

"This is where I used to practice with my BB Gun..." Anna answered, looking at the old, rusted targets still sitting there.

"What? Where the hell did you get a gun like that?" Butch demanded. Anna sighed leaning back against the wall.

"Why don't you like me Butch?" She muttered, still staring far away. Butch was taken aback, but answered at a knee jerk.

"Because you're annoying..."

"Is it because I'm not pretty?"

"No, you look fine." Anna's gaze rose to his at that. Her eyes seemed different. Butch wasn't sure if it was just the light, or the booze.

"You...Think I'm pretty?"

"Well...Yeah, you don't look half bad. I mean you gotta be one of the hottest girls in the vault. Totally not on the top of my list though because of the way you-" He froze as Anna placed a hand on his chest. He looked down at it confused as she moved his hand to rest on her hip.

"I think I've always wanted you to like me Butch...I don't know why. I guess I'm a people pleaser. I just...I just want you to like me. I want more friends." She babbled, arms wrapping around his neck and tugging him down closer. Butch was stiff as stone at first, but quickly relaxed. A pompous grin spreading across his face as his hands glided downward to cup her ass.

"Oh yeah?" He leaned in. He was hoping SOMETHING would happen this prom night. Anna wasn't his first choice by far, but hell, like he was going to turn this down. "I think I know a way to get me to like you." He snorted, moving in to give her a deep kiss as someone behind them cleared his throat.

Doctor James Genesis was glaring at the pair, arms crossed, fire in his eyes. Without having to say a word Butch shrank back, moving away from Anna with a look of honest to god fear in his eyes.

"Well...Party's over." Wally Mack shrugged and only then did Anna notice that the whole gang of snakes was there with Amata staring at her in shock, wide eyed and mouth hanging open. It would have been an understatement to say that this was a bit awkward.

* * *

"Don't give me that! You were drunk! All of you! What if I hadn't walked in? Hmm? Did you think about that? What if the overseer found you first?"

It was the next day, Anna was seated on their couch in the living quarters, dressed once again in her blue vault suit slowly nursing a mug of coffee. Her head was pounding and her dad's yelling wasn't making it any better.

"Amata wasn't drunk." She pointed out matter of factly.

"This isn't about your friend, this is about you young lady!" Her Dad snapped as he paced back and forth in front of the coffee table.

"Why are you being so hard on me!? It was just one time and nothing happened!" Anna growled back, tired of the minutes ticking by and his ranting going on, and on and on.

"Well that's my job, isn't it?" he looked at her, eyes wide from anger. "To turn you into a grown-up? Make sure you're ready to handle adult life here in the vault? You're not a kid anymore."

"I'm. Sorry. What more do you want?" She asked in a harsh, hushed tone. She felt hot tears start to fill her eyes, she dared them to fall. She hated it when her father looked at her like this. The...Disappointment in his eyes. It brought whole new levels of shame and regret to her. Knowing that she had caused him to feel this way towards her? She could hardly stand it.

James gaze softened. He went over and sat next to her on the edge of the couch cushion, a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I just want you to understand sweetie." He sighed. "You need to learn responsibility. All I've ever wanted is you to grow up into an educated adult."

"I do understand! And I'm sorry! It was stupid and I won't do it again. I p-promise!" Her voice cracked from her tears. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, sniffling into his shoulder, repeating over and over how sorry she was for upsetting him, for disappointing him. James always gave the greatest hugs, at least to Anna. They were always warm and solid, and lasted just the right amount of time, but this one. This one would never last long enough.


	16. Ragtime Blues

Deep breath in, deep breath out.

It wouldn't be the end of the world. Not by a long shot.

But god, was she not ready. Butch wasn't ready either, and most likely never will be.

What would she do? What could she do? It wasn't even 100% right now or anything.

She would just have to wait a bit longer to confirm...Wait? How long? Dear god she could hardly stand it!

"Molerat got your tongue?" Moria chimed, looking up from her workbench. She lifted her goggles, a fine layer of dust rimming around the area of where they were, a memory of her latest invention gone wrong. "You've been standing there for quite a while and haven't said a word. What's up?" Moira turned fully to face Anna, who was still silently freaking out to herself.

"Uh, Nothing. It's nothing."

"Now don't be silly, I know you like the back of my hand and I _know _when something is on your mind. Just tell me already!" Moira went around to the other side of the counter, stripping her work gloves.

"Ok, fine. I guess I'll just say it. I think-" Anna stopped and looked at the hired mercenary Moira had to keep watch. He looked at her indifferently, arms crossed. It was clear he didn't plan on moving to give them privacy. Anna sighed, rising on her toes to lean over the counter and whisper the rest in Moira's ear. The Trader gave a sharp gasp.

"For real!? Oh my goodness!" She gushed.

"No! No, no. No. Nothing for sure I just...I don't like the 'what if' factor right now. It's not like there is a sure fire way to tell without equipment like in the vault or rivet city. I'll be damned if I got to either place and put myself at risk. It wouldn't be fair." Anna leaned her hip against the counter, arms crossed and brows knitted close together.

"What are some of your symptoms?" Moira brought out a clipboard and pencil.

"Well, the most obvious sign isn't coming to visit. It's been too long. Like, Way too long. That's not normal for me."

"Uh-hu..." Moria scribbled something down.

"And well, I've been sick lately, I thought it was just food poisoning but I mean, with the first thing..."

"Mmh-hmm, I understand!" Moira nodded and kept scratching stuff down on her clipboard.

"And I mean...I don't know My moods and everything else have been all over the place lately too." Anna glanced to the side, pretending she didn't feel the mercenaries eyes digging into her back.

"Oooh..." Moira nodded some more and finished writing. "That confirms it then!"

"Confirms!?"

"Well, not 100% but I'd agree with you!" She turned the clipboard around to show the wanderer. It was a list of everything Anna had mentioned with little check marks next to it. At the bottom she had signed her name with a small smile next to it as if it was an official doctor's report.

"Oh my god this can't be happening..." Anna groaned, leaning her head down on the counter top.

"Oooooh Don't be such a downer! When are you going to tell him!?"

"Never?" Anna glanced up at the Shopkeeper. She gave a heavy sigh and straightened. "How do you even tell someone something like that?"

"Well, you walk up to him and go 'Why hello my dearest Butch, I love you and I came to tell you that I'm-'"

"I'm going to stop you right there. That's not even close to how this conversation will be going."

"Well you're going to have to tell him sometime! Butch is stupid but not that stupid. I'm sure he would start to notice at some point..." Moira glanced Anna up and down, causing the former vault dweller to flush.

"Well yeah- But I- I don't know. What if it's just a false alarm?"

"Better safe than sorry?" Anna groaned again at this. There really wasn't any way to avoid this. "Go! Shoo! This is between you and Butchie now." Moria shooed Anna with her hands who reluctantly went to the door.

"Uh...Wish me luck I guess?"

* * *

Anna had managed to put the whole subject off until dinner. She felt like a ticking time bomb however as she sat across from Butch at their painfully small table. Butch glanced up, mouth full of food as he chewed.

"What's gotten you so low?" He asked, his words of course muffled by the food. Anna bit her lip, looking at Butch like a radstag caught in a spotlight. He swallowed. "Seriously, though. What's bit'n ya? You've been quiet and it's making me feel weird." He set his fork down and looked at her sternly.

"Well...I uh..." Anna swallowed, fiddling with her hands. She couldn't remember a time she was ever as nervous as this. She could take down a super mutant behemoth no trouble, but telling Butch the possible truth? "I'm...Just going to say it."

"Ok..."

"Ok?"

"Yeah!"

"Ok...Here I go..."

"Just spit it the fuck out already, man!"

"I think I'm pregnant." Anna shut her eyes, the words flowing quickly out of her mouth as if ripping off a literary band-aid. The silence that followed was expected. It was painful, the air seemingly electric, at least to Anna.

"You..." Butch started, but trailed off. Anna opened her eyes to see him looking very pale, staring at the floor.

"I- I'm not sure. I just...I don't-" Anna swallowed hard yet again, but nothing stopped the heavy emotions from rising up. Butch seemed to be very deep in thought. After another lapse of silence Butch stood, muttering how he 'needed a smoke' and promptly left out the door. When Anna peeked out a few minutes later to check on him he was gone.

* * *

It had been a few hours, and a few drinks later when Butch burst through the door. He startled Anna so badly she nearly dropped her glass.

"What was I think'n!?" He burst. Anna was terribly confused, but let him continue and she clutched her glass of cola close. "I ain't my father am I? No way! From day one I said I ain't gonna be like him, and here I am being like him! There ain't no way I'm walking out. No. Way. I fucking hate kids but god damn I will force myself to love this stupid kid to pieces. Because It ain't just mine, it's gonna be yours too."

"How much have you had to drink?"

"Besides the point!" He quickly crossed the room to her, kneeling down infront of her chair. "I fucking love you. And yeah, this may be one big mistake but it's our mistake. There ain't no way you're getting rid of me now."

"Well...That's nice to hear I guess. I hope all of that still applies even though I'm not pregnant."

"...Come again?" Butch froze, tilting and ear closer. He must have heard something wrong.

"I'm not pregnant!" Anna repeated, a large smile plastered across her face.

"What!? What happened!? Oh my God did-" Butch began to panic before Anna reached forward and bopped him on the head lightly.

"I never was, I just thought I was. A Female body is very complex thing to understand, Butch. Even for us who own the body."

"You...You mean you're on the rag?"

"Yep. So no bouncing baby Deloria's to worry about."

"I...I have never been so happy to hear a girl's on her period in my entire life."


	17. Begin Again

4

"I call bullshit."

"On what?"

"All of it! No way. I mean I've heard some of the stories but you're just making all that up."

The young boy in the leather jacket scoffed. Both men were seated in the Brass Lantern. Nursing a beer each. The younger couldn't have been much older than 16, while the other seemed to be a more experienced traveler of the wastes in age.

"Oh come on! Hey, at least I entertained you! That was the deal. Food please." He tapped the bar. The traveler rolled his eyes and dug into his pack, pulling out a can of pork and beans.

"Down on your luck, kid? So much so you're telling stories to strangers in a bar?"

"No, that really." He said lightly, making his way into the can with a strong hunger. He plucked a spoon out of a utensil cup and digged in. The traveler made a face at the prospect of someone enjoying cold Pork and Beans, but he couldn't talk.

"You from around here?" The traveler asked in a gruff voice, out of polite conversation more than anything.

"Oh yeah, born and raised. I mean, I GUESS I was born here. That's what I'm told anyway. Not like I could remember something like that." The boy laughed before shoving another spoonful in his face.

"Ever been outside those walls?" The boy swallowed, a serious look washing over his face at the memories.

"A few times...Mainly when I was younger though. That's how I got this." He turned on the stool and showed the stranger the left side of his jaw, where a surprisingly clean cut scar wrapped around the curve of his jaw and pointed up at an angle towards his left ear. "Stupid raider did that to me when I was a kid." The boy shifted back to his original pose, elbows resting on the counter top.

"Yep, Raiders are nasty folk, but I bet you don't get a lot around here. The Lone wanderer lives here for christs sake." The Boy shrugged his thin shoulders and took a drink of beer, the can sitting empty by his side.

"James? James!" Moira Brown poked her head in through the door. It was almost jarring to see her anywhere other than Crater supply. "There you are! I've been looking all over for you silly. Your parents are back."

The boy turned and hopped off the bar stool, seemingly unwavered by the news.

"Oh? Are they asking for me? Do they even remember me?" James asked sarcastically. Moria tutted, smoothing back the boy's dark hair back from his face in a loving manner.

"Now, Now...They mainly want to talk about that amazing thing you did with that butler robot! I'm sure they want to also hear all about what you've been up to with that bike of yours while they were gone."

"Mmh, Can't wait to explain that one..." James turned to the traveler, who was studying the faded, jade green snake on James's back. "Have a good one." James offered one last smile and wave, knowing full well he would never see the man again in his lifetime and followed Moria out.

On the hike up the slope to his house, James shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to start thinking of excuses. There had to have been a few good ones left.

"I'll see you back at the shop my little hot potato!" Moria parted with a smile. James wished he could be as positive as his Aunt Moira...James reached the metal grating up top, glancing at his latest project tucked in the corner under a makeshift shelter. His Motorcycle. Half the town was against him, so far as to making cap bets on if he could pull off getting it running or not. There was no way in hell James was going to not reach his goal. Once he got the thing running, he would need to come up with some easy fuel. He had no doubt that Moria would help him with that.

James had gotten this crazy idea in his head just last year he was going to travel out of the Capital Wasteland. There were too many stories and already traveled roads for him. He didn't want to be in his parents shadow for the rest of his life, knowing that he would never be happy. Everyone was expecting him to be the great 2nd Lone Wanderer...That just wasn't him. He Was James Deloria, a kid who likes robots, and fixing up anything and everything. He'd go west, find a place and settle down. Open a repair shop or something, anything to get out of here.

James covered his bike with a tarp before entering the house, bracing himself for the shit show he was most certainly walking into.

"Butch. Don't touch him, just let James fix him."

"Yeah, but it's in my way! How the hell am I gonna get to the fuck'n first aid-"

"Don't. Break. Him." James's mother ordered from the bottom of the stairs. Butch, who was at the top, groaned and rolled his eyes. Wadsworth continued to glitch and slam himself into their bedroom door repeatedly.

"Hey Mom...Dad...How was your trip?" James addressed them a bit awkwardly.

"James." Anna huffed turning to face him, she was still dressed in her green combat armor, dust from the wastes clung to her face and arms. "Care to explain why Wadsworth is doing...Whatever it is he's doing?"

"Well, He was annoying me. So, I gave him a bit of a technical push to not be so annoying." James gave a sly grin as Anna crossed her arms.

"James, Wadsworth does a lot for us. The least you could do would be to shut him off, not...Do that to him." Anna glanced up the stairs where Butch was still trying in vain to get past the ancient robot to nurse a few small cuts he had gotten on their way home. It was James's turn to sigh as he marched up the stairs. Pulling a screwdriver from his pocket, he forced Wadsworth against the wall and unscrewed a panel, a simple rewire and Wadsworth was rebooting. James was replacing the panel as Butch inched past.

"You are one weird kid, ya know that?" Butch raised an eyebrow at his son as he released the robot.

"Love you too pops..."

"James!? Where is all the food!?" Anna called from downstairs. The Boy winced.

"About that...Uh...instead of getting more I sorta just uhm...bought some more parts for my bike instead." Butch made a face at him as he dabbed at his cuts.

"Have you been eating at all!?"

"Yes! I ate the rest of the food here obviously!" James said defensively as he walked down the stairs again. His mother gave him a tired look. It wasn't about the caps of course. It was about the fact of how he took care of himself. James, for a moment, thought he was in trouble. But Anna's expression softened and she pulled him into her arms for a hug.

"What are we going to do with you..." The hug was warm and oddly soft despite Anna's combat armor pressing into him. After a few moments she parted from him. "Looks like I'm going out to get some more food before I relax." She gave James a look that told him he'd be paying for all this later before she left through the door.

"You didn't drink all my stuff while I was gone, right?" Butch asked as he descended the stairs, holding a ice cold nuka cola to a swelling lump on his forehead.

"Of course not!" James spun and collapsed in the armchair in the corner. "You would kill me."

"Damn right I would..." Butch agreed as he grabbed a beer from the fridge.

"So, How was you and moms trip?"

"Pointless. Bastards at Rivet City needed help with the bottle process AGAIN. Something about a stupid missing part. I don't fuck'n know." Butch sat at the kitchen table and opened the beer, taking a much needed drink.

"What happened on the way back? Those are all new." James asked. Butch remained silent, slumping a bit lower in his chair. "Pa." James leaned forward in his chair.

"There...Was a radroach. It startled me and I fell down a hill."

Silence.

"...Permission to laugh?"

"Ah, Go ahead, laugh all you want asshole!" Butch's glare did nothing to ease James's laughter as it filled the room.

"Oh my god! That gold..." James wiped at his eyes, his laughter dying off. Butch rolled his eyes.

Later that night, James worked on his bike by the light of his lantern. The work wasn't to complex, just something to relax him as the day ended. As he worked, his mind wandered, imagining what he would find outside of the capital wasteland. More radiation thats for sure and who knew, Maybe he would even become a hero. Whatever the case was, James was eager to get going. It wasn't that he hated his home, no. It was the simple feeling that there was a new home waiting for him that would be all his own. He could make a name for himself, fix things up, maybe even a few robots.

Sitting back against his bike, he took a sip of Nuka Cola. He just knew there was something new out there, calling to him. Simply waiting for him to reach out and take it. He fiddled with his dad's old pipboy, tuning the radio into a static broadcast, but just barely between the interference a song could be made out.

Where can we go

When will we find that we know

To let go

Begin, begin again tonight...


End file.
